U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic collaborates with airlines to detect illegal travel

The U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic reported collaborating with airline personnel to detect illicit travel to and from the United States.

Recently, in conjunction with the Dominican National Police, the embassy’s Office of Criminal Investigations of the Diplomatic Security Service trained employees of airlines offering services to the United States and for personnel at the Punta Cana Airport.

The embassy mentioned that the training covered facial recognition techniques, identification of impostors, security features of U.S. travelers’ documents, and current trends in organized crime related to trafficking and smuggling.

According to data from the Migration Policy Institute, immigrants from the Dominican Republic constitute the fourth largest group of Hispanic immigrants in the United States, after Mexicans, Salvadorans, and Cubans.

Dominican immigrants primarily enter the United States through family connections, with 99% arriving through family sponsorship, in contrast to 69% of all immigrants, according to the report.