The Haiti crisis has forced many to flee the country, with some going to neighboring Dominican Republic. However, the government there is just deporting these refugees, and several human rights activists are asking the DR government to stop.

Rights groups, such as the Dominican-based National Coalition for Migrations and Refugees, are asking the Dominican government to grant a temporary reprieve in deportations as the Haiti crisis continues to grip its neighbor on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

Currently, small trucks with customized cages are carrying dozens of Haitians every day, deporting them from a detention center in San Cristóbal to the Haiti-Dominican Republic border. As this is happening, gangs continue to press their attacks on government authorities and one another, forcing many to flee their homes.

"If the government could postpone or diminish the push for deportations, it would be an achievement... an important contribution to the Haitian population," said the National Coalition for Migrations and Refugees's coordinator, William Charpentier.

The rights group also accused Dominican authorities of bursting into the homes of suspected Haitians and breaking belongings. These Dominican authorities are also alleged to extort the people they accuse of being Haitians, according to the Associated Press.

It is not just human rights groups that are calling on the Dominican Republic government to temporarily halt the deportations, but also the United Nations, which noted that Haiti is extremely unsafe and that the refugees are just fleeing the violence.

However, Dominican Republic Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez stated that these deportations were a result of a national security policy and that they could not stop them.

READ NEXT: Haiti Crisis: Gangs Attack Police Stations While CARICOM Leaders Call Emergency Meeting

Haiti Refugees Fear for Their Lives as the Dominican Republic Deports Them Back to Haiti

The Dominican Republic is now deporting Haitian citizens, even the ones who have lived in the country for a long time. This has many Haitians in the country afraid for their lives as they face uncertainty and the threat of deportation.

Dominican authorities have been rounding up Haitians on a daily basis. One of them is construction worker Michael Petiton, who has been staying at the DR for three years now. 

"They came into my house and took me from my home," Petiton told the BBC.

Petiton is now back in Haiti with only the clothes on his back and a few tools he managed to salvage. He stated that he was doing a job most Dominicans did not want.

Over 350,000 people have now been displaced in Haiti due to the growing violence. While many fled to the Dominican Republic, many others fled to countries like Nicaragua and Venezuela in the hope that they could reach the United States and live a better life there.

Dominican Republic's Tight New Border Restrictions Has Many Haitians Scrambling

With the Haiti crisis, the Dominican Republic has tightened restrictions on their shared border. This is evident in the border town of Dajabon, where Haitians rush to get merchandise from the DR to take to the Haitian city of Ouanaminthe.

The Guardian reported that the DR has restricted Haitians who sought to buy food and other merchandise from them to just two market days a week. This is making the scramble for food and other goods much more desperate for many.

"Every Haitian who enters here buys merchandise to take back home so that people have something to eat," said merchant Noudy Dolisca. "If they didn't come here to buy, there would be nothing in Haiti."

READ MORE: Haiti Crisis Explained: How Did It Get This Bad?

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Crisis in Haiti: Battle between gangs and police continues creating havoc in Caribbean nation - CBS Miami