Earlier this week, authorities in the Dominican Republic made the brutal discovery of four Haitian women who were killed and later decapitated near the country’s southern border with Haiti.
At the time they were found, reports indicated the women had been killed and then thrown into a river, which carried their bodies to the area where they were discovered. After days of investigation, a new report revealed information about the victims, who were allegedly deported from Puerto Rico as a result of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
According to Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día, the four Haitian women found dead had been deported from the territory several months earlier. Leonard Prophil, a community leader and spokesperson for Haitians in Puerto Rico, said the women had been missing for two weeks.
“One of them was deported two months ago, and the others were deported three months and 15 days ago,” Prophil said, adding that the killings could be linked to gangs that kidnap women to “demand ransom money from their relatives,” who often live in the United States.
“Leave these people alone. Deporting them is condemning them to death,” Prophil added.
According to Prophil, the women arrived in Puerto Rico in December 2024 and lived in Barrio Obrero and Puerto Nuevo, two neighborhoods known for having large migrant populations in the San Juan metropolitan area.
So far, Dominican authorities have reported the arrest of a Haitian man identified as Chin Laduse, who is allegedly connected to the killings.
“If the government wants to help, it should help these people legalize their status, because every time someone like this is deported, they are supporting a culture of death,” Prophil said.
Immigration raids in the continental United States have also extended to territories such as Puerto Rico, where for months federal immigration agents have targeted communities and neighborhoods known for housing large numbers of migrants, particularly Dominicans and Haitians.
According to a report by EFE, an estimated 20,000 undocumented people live in Puerto Rico.
To facilitate the arrest of undocumented immigrants, the Puerto Rico government turned over confidential information last November on about 6,000 migrants with irregular status who previously registered to obtain driver’s licenses.
As noted by The Latino Newsletter, vehicle registration data can be used by authorities to monitor vehicles and the people associated with them. Immigration officers can identify who is likely inside a vehicle by searching a license plate or tracking it through automated license plate readers. When combined with records that identify a person’s nationality, the data can become a powerful tool for immigration authorities as deportation efforts continue.
Originally published on Latin Times
