SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CMC) – Hundreds of Haitians clashed with Immigration officials early Wednesday as inspectors patrolled an area to the east of here.

According to local media reports, the Haitian construction workers were on a truck when they allegedly hurled stones at the immigration inspectors.

A melee ensued and a group of undocumented Haitians who were detained in a bus occupied by the immigration personnel, broke the windows of the vehicle and made their escape.

The police say  a team of officers went to the location where they arrested a dozen Haitians, however the group reportedly escaped into nearby bushes.

The incident follows a demonstration by another group of Haitians on Tuesday in which they protested in front of the Haitian embassy here, stating that they were unable to complete papers needed for provisional permits due to the lack of passports from the Haitian government.

The protestors said that despite paying in advance for the passports, they have not yet received the documents.

“This is an abuse of the Haitian government against us,” said Linda Metelié, a Haitian living here who said apart from the money spent for the passport, she has already spent twice that in fares to the embassy to retrieve her document.

The permits issued to the 143,000 Haitians living here will start expiring from July 17 to December this year, when they risk repatriation to the neighbouring French speaking Caribbean county if they fail to complete the renewal documents.