27. With regard to Group B, of the approximately 110,000 to 145,000 individuals that the Ministry of the Interior and Police estimated could benefit from Law 169-14,71 only 8,755 people registered in the regularization plan according to official reports.72 The low rates of participation can be attributed to various factors, including the absence of a media campaign directed towards potential beneficiaries, the lack of training for officials who incorrectly rejected applications from those who were eligible, the low number of offices receiving applications, the limited 180-day timeframe in which to register, general lack of faith of the affected individuals in the proposed system stemming from historical and structural discrimination, and additional barriers imposed by individual offices and officials.73 28. According to the law, individuals able to register as part of Group B have to wait two years to pursue a naturalization process,74 which would potentially provide them with the opportunity to enjoy the nationality of the country where they were born. The process of naturalization is discretionary and applications can be denied upon review. If approved, this naturalized citizenship limits access to political office and can be subject to suspension in certain cases.75 Those able to register as part of Group B remain deprived of their nationality until able to pursue this naturalization process, and there is no guarantee that they will ever be recognized as Dominicans. As recently as November 23, 2017, the Dominican government stated to the IACHR that “it was not aware of any application for naturalization filed by any of population registered as Group B.”76 The IACHR noted its concern that not only has the government not yet received applications for naturalization, but it has also not published information for the affected population about the requirements or procedure for the naturalization process.77 In addition to those in Group B who could register, tens of thousands of Dominicans in Group B that could not register through Law 169-14 for reasons detailed earlier are stateless or at risk of statelessness in their country of birth. 29. While the Dominican government pledged not to carry out deportations during the registration period,78 that window officially ended in 2015, exposing thousands of people to the risk of deportation to a country they have never known. Between July 2015 and September 2017, 58,271 people were officially deported to Haiti and another 37,942 claimed they were deported, according to the International Organization for Migration.79 Among those deported, 15,301 individuals claimed to have been born in the Dominican Republic before January 26, 2010, the date that the 2010 Constitution went into effect.80 Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 71 Situation of Human Rights in the Dominican Republic. Country Report: Dominican Republic. Page 237. 72 Chapter V: Follow-Up on Recommendations Issued by the IACHR in its Country or Thematic Reports. Page 777. 73 Estado del arte de las migraciones que atañen a la República Dominicana: 2014. OBMICA. P.152-153. 74 El Congreso Nacional en Nombre de la República. Ley No. 169-14, art. 8. 75 Constitución Política de la República Dominicana, proclamada el 26 de enero de 2010. Articles 19, 24, 79 and 135. 76 Chapter V: Follow-Up on Recommendations Issued by the IACHR in its Country or Thematic Reports. Page 778. 77 Id. Page 779. 78 Taveras, Estarlin. Gobierno concluye plan naturalización especial. El Día. (3 de febrero de 2015). http://eldia.com.do/gobierno-concluye-plan-naturalizacion-especial/. 79 IOM Haiti. Monitoring Border SITREP. IOM. 28 September 2017. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/2017-09-28-%20IOM%20DTM%20Border%20Monitoring%20%20Situation%20Report%20.pdf. 80 Id. 12