SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - Lawmakers have introduced a proposal to deny Dominican citizenship to the children of foreign born residents amid increasing tension over immigrants who enter the country from neighbouring Haiti.

A group of 14 senators introduced the bill Tuesday to amend the constitution limiting citizenship to only those born to Dominican parents. A vote on the measure has not been scheduled.

A two-thirds majority in both the 32-seat Senate and 150-seat Chamber of Deputies would be needed to pass the bill.
Increasing numbers of Haitians, fleeing the violence and hardship that followed the February 2004 ouster of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, have crossed the porous border separating the countries, which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

As many as 1 million Haitians live in the Dominican Republic. Many are illegal residents. Others, who have papers or Dominican citizenship, are discriminated against and sometimes deported.

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