20. In the framework of immigration operations, people of Haitian descent have been victims of multiple violations of their rights.80 These operations are carried out in communities, primary schools, hospitals, and workplaces, creating fear in the population to access basic services.81 In 2022, the death of a person in detention was reported after being beaten by immigration agents; and the murder of people in their homes and burning of residences by soldiers; and DGM agents82. Likewise, there have been repeated reports of excessive use of force, mistreatment and inhumane detention conditions, including an Haitian woman who was beaten and thrown from a moving vehicle by immigration agents.83 21. Even though the law prohibits it,84 the Dominican authorities have arbitrarily entered residences of Haitian and Dominican people through immigration raids without a court order. There have been reports of interference in homes with the use of violence at night, robberies, extortion and destruction of documents.85 According to OBMICA, the adoption of the Presidential Decree to prevent and prosecute irregular invaders of private property could be a way of justifying interference in the residences of people of Haitian origin, which is particularly worrying for those who reside in old bateyes without legal title.86 22. The human impact of arbitrary deportations is enormous, particularly on children and adolescents of Haitian origin. Although the immigration detention of children and adolescents is prohibited, the Government has justified their detention when they are with their parents.87 However, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Dominican Republic and Haiti (1999) prohibits family separation in acts of “repatriation.”88 The best interests of children are not systematically and adequately evaluated,89 nor are the guarantees provided for in an internal protocol adopted by the Government for the identification, care and protection of children in human mobility respected.90 Arbitrarily and illegally, the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI) could have authorised the expulsion of children and adolescents to Haiti, claiming that it responds to their best interests.91 Likewise, the arbitrary detention and deportation of people can cause the loss of employment, economic income and livelihoods, which harms the quality of life of children and adolescents. 80 OBMICA and UNICEF, A new look at children on the move on the Dominican-Haitian border, May 31, 2023, p. 58 (“Immigration grabbed me in Barahona, we were a group of about 15 people, we arrived at a place where there were many dogs barking when we came to see a colonel grabbed us and put handcuffs on our hands.” hands, they took us to prison for 7 days without food, without anything, then they released us” - testimony of E17, 17 years old; “Where they put us was cold, they didn't put anything on the floor, you know, like when they put pigs in a pen? That's how it was, there was nothing inside, they should have given us a mat, we couldn't sleep on the cold floor, others slept sitting up” – testimony of E25, 17 years old). 81 CEDESO and OBMICA. Press release. Soldiers break doors, attack Dominicans and migrants in southern bateyes. A minor and Dominicans with documentation in hand were detained. May 30, 2023. 82 US Department of State Annual Report on Human Rights Dominican Republic. 2022. P. 2. 83 OBMICA. Dignified treatment: New challenges for Due Process in Deportations from the Dominican Republic. February, 2023. P. 44;US Department of State Annual Report on Human Rights Dominican Republic. 2022. P. 3 and 4. 84 National Congress of the Dominican Republic, Criminal Procedure Code, approved by Law 76-02 (2002), article 80. 85 US Department of State Annual Report on Human Rights Dominican Republic. 2022. P. 12. 86 OBMICA. Dignified treatment: New challenges for Due Process in Deportations from the Dominican Republic. February, 2023, p. 52. 87 DGM. Press release. DGM denies deportation of Haitian children without their parents accompanying them. February 21, 2022. 88 OBMICA. Dignified treatment: New challenges for Due Process in Deportations from the Dominican Republic. February, 2023. P. 50. 89 OBMICA. Forced Migration: Deportations by land from the Dominican Republic to the Republic of Haiti. Migration Policy Brief. October 2019. P. 15. 90 OBMICA. Dignified treatment: New challenges for Due Process in Deportations from the Dominican Republic. February, 2023. P. 131. 91 Ad-hoc coalition of civil society organizations. Joint Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the situation of children and adolescents in the Dominican Republic, with emphasis on the rights to nationality, equality, non-discrimination, and access to education and health. 2023. 8