Atlas of Hispanic-American History

Balaguer, a longtime Trujillo associate, to

step down and permit free elections to be

held. In the elections of December 1962,

Juan Bosch, a liberal opponent of Trujillo

who had returned from exile after the dic-

tator’s death, was chosen president. His

attempts to institute land reform and

other forms of social relief earned him

castigation as a communist. He was over-

thrown in 1963 in a right-wing military

coup and sent back into exile. Bosch’s

supporters attempted to overthrow the

military junta and restore the elected

government in 1965, but the United

States regarded the revolt as an open

window for communism and sent more

than 20,000 marines to close it. Bosch

denounced the U.S. intervention, but to

no avail. New elections in 1966 were

won by onetime Trujillo puppet Balaguer,

who repeatedly won reelection to remain

in office until 1978 and from 1986 to

1996. A conservative, he strengthened
      the economy and maintained domestic
      stability, often through political repres-
      sion, without doing much to reduce the
      endemic poverty of most Dominicans.
      Though no great advance in standard
      of living resulted from the 1961 death of
      Trujillo, it affected ordinary Dominicans
      in at least one respect. Trujillo had
      imposed tight restrictions on emigration,
      restrictions that ended with his death.
      Almost immediately, Dominicans began a
      mass exodus from the island, in most
      cases heading for the United States in
      search of economic opportunity. Their
      numbers included unskilled laborers and
      skilled and educated members of the mid-
      dle class. From 1962 through 1972, a
      mean of 11,445 Dominicans per year
      were legally admitted to the United
      States as permanent residents; the figure
      rose to over 16,000 per year in the 1970s
      and over 30,000 per year in the 1980s.
      Many more Dominicans came to the
      United States illegally, usually by over-
      staying tourist visas or crossing the nar-
      row Mona Passage that separates their
      country from Puerto Rico. The channel
      is turbulent and shark-infested, but those
      who survive the passage can often pass as
      Puerto Ricans, who require no passports
      to fly from the island to the United
      States.
      Most Dominicans settled in New
      York City, which contained 495,000 peo-
      ple of Dominican descent by 1997, or 60
      percent of all Dominicans nationwide.
      Between 1965 and 1980, Dominicans
      were the largest group of immigrants to
      New York City. More than half live in the
      Washington Heights and Inwood sec-
      tions of Manhattan; the rest are scattered
      throughout the city.
      Though the United States accepted
      Dominican applicants, it did not throw
      open the door to them the way it had
      with Cuban exiles. Despite the political
      repression in the Dominican Republic,
      the United States viewed Dominicans as
      economic refugees, not refugees from
      political persecution. They were subject
      to the same immigration restrictions as
      other people from Latin America, restric-
      tions that became considerably more
      stringent than before with the
      Immigration Act of 1965.

184 ATLAS OF HISPANIC-AMERICAN HISTORY

Dominicans protest the U.S. Marine intervention in their country in 1965. (National

Archives)

American marines stop and search a

local Dominican during the U.S.

intervention of 1965. (National

Archives)