840.48 Refugees/2127
The Chargé in the Dominican Republic (Hinkle) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 7.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Legation’s despatch no. 1185 of March 29, 1940 in which it was reported that the Dominican Government had referred a prospective immigrant to the Dominican Republic Settlement Association as the proper entity to which to make an immigration application.
The Legation has now been informed that the Settlement Association has recently learned that it can apply to the Government for the admission of any immigrants who will not engage in any gainful occupations, and who will receive guaranteed regular support from abroad. Any such applications coming through the Association will be granted visas on condition that in each case a letter from one of the banks with a branch in Ciudad Trujillo is attached to the application stating that satisfactory arrangements have been made through them that the applicants will receive from specified relatives a certain monthly allowance during their stay in the Dominican Republic. In this connection, the Government wants a minimum guarantee of $40.00 per month for a single person and $75.00 per month for a family of not over three people. Persons entering the Republic in this manner will not in any way be connected with those coming for the foundation of an agricultural colony.
It is anticipated that refugees will start arriving under this plan very soon, for the Association is at present working out details with the banks and will shortly be in a position to recommend persons for visas. Actually, it has already done so in a few emergency cases where there was no doubt of the individual’s ability to maintain himself, but no large volume is expected for a time yet. It is anticipated that a large proportion of the refugees who arrive under this scheme will be elderly people and persons waiting for visas to enter the United States, and it is quite possible that they may come in very large numbers. However, the Association is anxious not to have this phase of its work overshadow the primary function of setting up an agricultural colony, and any large extension of it may be limited by that consideration.
It is planned in so far as possible to place these temporary immigrants in small communities outside of Ciudad Trujillo, and the town of Jarabacoa in a more healthful climate about 1800 feet above sea level has been mentioned. If circumstances warrant, the Association may assist certain of the refugees already in the Dominican Republic to set up boarding-houses for the persons who will come.
[Page 226]An arrangement similar to the one projected here was in operation in England previous to the war, and at the time it stopped functioning there were approximately three million dollars in guarantees on deposit and two thousand families involved.
Respectfully yours,