Dominican Republic immigration to Puerto Rico

[4][5][6][7] Haitian nationals now make the majority of persons trying to reach the U.S. commonwealth from the island of Hispaniola, usually with the aid of Dominican smugglers.

Most emigrants, however, are far from destitute, as they tend to be jobholders in the Dominican Republic, many in skilled occupations such as mechanic, mason, seamstress, and nurse.

Accounts by survivors include people being either eaten alive by sharks or forced to jump into the sea when there is a danger of sinking.

Travelers sometimes die of starvation or dehydration since the yolas can get lost out at sea for days, and many have no type of navigation equipment on board to steer them in the right direction.

In November 2008, a group of 33 illegal Dominican migrants who were en route to Puerto Rico were forced to resort to cannibalism after they were lost at sea for over 15 days before being rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat.

These trips are massively scheduled by traffickers, who sometimes travel up to three times each week from Puerto Rico to illegally bring Dominicans.

But, because of the large amount of lives that have been lost in many of these trips, both the governments of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic have launched mass media campaigns to try to reduce them.

In the Dominican Republic, videos of dead bodies on the water are shown on television to try to deter people from travelling to Puerto Rico on yolas.

In 2009 an order was given by Governor Luis Fortuño to shut off essential services, such as water and electricity, to Villas del Sol, a shantytown within the municipality of Toa Baja.

In January 2010 the island government began demolishing some of the homes whose residents are both U.S. citizens and undocumented aliens, mainly of Dominican origin.

San Juan is about 13% Dominican, though there are high levels of integration and assimilation among Dominicans in Puerto Rico, the highest concentrations on the island can be found in eastern sections of San Juan near Carolina, in eastern Santurce and the Rio Piedras (Oriente, Sabana Llana) district, where they represent up to one-quarter of the residents.

[16] Smaller numbers of Dominicans settle the west coast (around Mayagüez) of Puerto Rico due to proximity to Hispaniola.