Dominican Republic certifies citizenship of thousands, leaves more in question News
Dominican Republic certifies citizenship of thousands, leaves more in question

[JURIST] Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina [official website, in Spanish] announced Friday that the country had certified the citizenship of thousands whose status had been in question for almost a decade. Their citizenship was in question [AP report] based on their Haitan-immigrant-parents illegal entry into the country. As a result, they had had trouble enrolling in school, travelling, getting formal work, marrying or registering children for lack of residence documents. Despite the announcement, even more immigrants [Miami Herald report] are at risk of deportation under undocumented immigrant crackdowns.

Immigration issues in the Dominican Republic have been a topic of controversy for years. In October 2013, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] called upon [JURIST Report] the Dominican Republic reject a constitutional court ruling that would impact the nationality of Dominicans of foreign descent. A group of Caribbean nations also condemned [AP report] the court’s ruling. Dominicans of Haitian descent [Open Society backgrounder] have historically experience discrimination in the Dominican Republic. AI detailed these practices in a report [text] in July 2010. The report specifically cites the issue of identity documents as the cause of the abuse. The ruling was issued [AP report] in September.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.