The Dominican Republic’s New Model Reform Project, developed and implemented as a one-of-a-kind, progressive approach to prison reform, raises questions about the true impact of reform projects on the expansion of carceral control and the persistence of systemic inequalities. This study examines the project through a critical lens, emphasizing the intersection of anti-Haitianism, racialized policing, and state-sponsored violence and the reflection of these dynamics in prison reform, social services, and public health in the Dominican Republic. This work leans heavily on the literature on migration, systemic exclusion, racialization, and legal stratification, complementing existing research. This project identifies how these reforms institutionalize the criminalization and racialization of marginalized communities rather than addressing root causes of inequality that create dangerous conditions for community members and pose significant threats to formerly incarcerated populations. The study explores the role of public works as state tools for consolidating power and legitimizing governance, often at the cost of transparency and accountability. This project also emphasizes the importance of looking at US imperialism and the legacy of colonialism as critical to political projects and international standards that affect public projects, fiscal investment, policing, and incarceration practices. The exportation of Western-aligned incarceration practices and carceral systems is present throughout Latin America and is fundamental to contextualizing prison reform projects. Ultimately, the findings argue that while the reforms can create granular change that creates certain benefits for those in the New Model facilities, the reform project merely represents deepening penal investment and entrenched systems of exclusion, suggesting that genuine justice and “reform” cannot be achieved within the existing carceral framework. The study relies on abolitionist frameworks that prioritize systemic change, harm reduction, and community investment rather than relying on punitive measures. The findings underscore the need to center the experiences of systems-impacted individuals and to challenge the foundations of state violence and racialized control.