Caricom to discuss Dominican court ruling stripping citizenship

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Members of a Caribbean trade bloc have called an emergency meeting to discuss a recent Dominican Republic court ruling that could strip the citizenship of thousands of children born to migrants living there illegally.

Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque says the meeting is scheduled to take place in Trinidad on Tuesday. The Friday announcement comes amid growing anger across the Caribbean about the ruling, which would overwhelmingly affect those of Haitian ancestry.

LaRocque noted that the Dominican Republic has formally applied to join Caricom, but that he did not know whether the court ruling would affect the application.

Dominican President Danilo Medina earlier this year pushed for full membership and said he wanted to improve cooperation with Caricom.