Sonia Pierre

"[1] Her nationality was disputed by the Junta Central Electoral [es] on the grounds that her birth certificate is forged, the residence status of her Haitian parents and the lack of evidentiary documentation from Haiti.

[8] Pierre became an activist at the age of 14, when she was arrested for being the spokesperson of a group of Haitian sugar-cane cutters in her migrant labor village who were protesting for better wages and living conditions.

Called Yean and Bosico v. Dominican Republic, the case "upheld human rights laws prohibiting racial discrimination in access to nationality and citizenship.

However, the Dominican Supreme Court later ruled that Haitian workers using work visas were considered 'in transit' or 'not legally in the country' and that their children were therefore not entitled to citizenship.

[12] On December 4, 2011, Pierre died at the age of 48 from a heart attack while being rushed to the hospital in Villa Altagracia, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic.