St. Thomas Law Student’s Article to be Published in Harvard Latino Law Review

Nicia Mejia, a third-year student at St. Thomas University School of Law, has accepted an offer to publish from the Harvard Latino Law Review.  Nicia’s article titled “Dominican Apartheid: Inside the Flawed Migration System of the Dominican Republic.” provides a comprehensive analysis of the migration system of the Dominican Republic, with a particular focus on how a September 2013 decision by the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic has retroactively rendered stateless many who were born on Dominican soil and others who for generations have called the eastern portion of the Hispaniola home.

Nicia Mejia

Nicia was inspired to write the article because of her Dominican heritage, in addition to a conversation she had about two years ago with an immigration advocate that strengthened her desire to do more research on the 2010 amendments to the Dominican Constitution that left tens of thousands of Dominicans stateless.  A vast majority of these Dominicans are those of Haitian descent, and the Dominican Republic is the only country they know.  Many of these people are left with a choice of either being deported to Haiti or living in the shadows as illegal immigrants.  The article weighs the power of national sovereignty against the inalienability of nationality and at the same time, it stresses the fact that this could happen anywhere.

Nicia wants to highlight this decision and hopes that the Dominican government considers the situation from a different perspective and makes the necessary changes.  “Something should be done because even as Americans, all of our ancestors migrated from somewhere,” stated Nicia. “It is human nature to move, seek new beginnings, and better futures for our children. Perhaps they will consider it from my perspective – the perspective of a Dominican immigrant who identifies with the American way of life and could not imagine being left with the only choice leaving the country she calls home.”

The article is forthcoming in Volume 18 of Harvard’s journal.