Haitian migrants travel to Puerto Rico to fly to U.S. cities

It has been years since Haitians have tried fleeing from their troubled country. Of late, there has been a new destination that Haitians have chosen - Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico takes them closer to the United States. In fact getting to Puerto Rico now means getting to New York, Boston or Miami. Though Haitians do not require a passport to move from Puerto Rico to one of these cities in the United States, they definitely require some kind of identification. This proof of identification could be something like a driver's license.

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Fake driver's licenses and passports have been on the rise for quite some time. A huge number of Haitians, who are trying to migrate into Puerto Rico, have been caught by authorities for providing fake licenses as a means of documentation. Over 350 Haitians have been arrested in the last six months for such acts. What used to be just a handful of illegal immigrants last year has now risen up to about 400!

Puerto Rico is just about 100 miles east to the island of Hispaniola. What is more surprising is that people are willing to pay over $1000 dollars to smugglers to get them there. One of the reasons behind Haitians choosing Puerto Rico over places Miami or New York is the fact that entry into such places has become increasingly difficult due to the strict measures put in place by the United States migration authorities. Another reason for choosing Puerto Rico is because Dominican authorities do not seem to have a strong force to patrol the southeast coast.

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Read more: immigration, Puerto Rico, International

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