SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A newly passed law in the Dominican Republic creates a path to citizenship for the descendants of tens of thousands of migrants who came from neighboring Haiti to toil in sugar fields and do other menial jobs, but human rights groups said Thursday that it fails to address the plight of many more people.

Activists said several loopholes mean the majority of people born in the Dominican Republic to migrants will remain essentially stateless, even as the government celebrated what it called historic legislation.