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33 Va. J. Int'l L. 483 (1992-1993)
The Human Face of the Haitian Interdiction Program

handle is hein.journals/vajint33 and id is 493 raw text is: The Human Face of the Haitian Interdiction Program HAROLD HONGJU KOH* Much has been written about the Haitian interdiction program: its origins, its illegality, and its moral failings.' Since my co-counsel, my students, and I first brought the Haitian Centers Council case in March 1992, I have learned more about that program than I ever wanted to know and said more about it than some have been willing to hear. Today, let me tell two stories. The first is a fascinating legal story about our case, which has been to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit five times and to the Supreme Court five times in the last 8 months. The second and more important story is the human story of our clients. It is a story of human suffering on a tragic scale. These are people caught up in a political and legal battle they do not fully understand. They are people of great dignity, political commitment, and courage whose lives have been utterly shattered. Many of them are captured in the grip of the HIV virus, a disease over which they have no control. They find that they have become an issue, forgotten in the presidential debates, but now a problem fac- ing the new administration. Let me start with the legal story. Our case is in two parts: the right-to-counsel case (HCC I) and the non-return case (HCC II). Some feel these cases are tremendously complex, but our legal * Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law, Yale Law School. The author was lead counsel in Haitian Ctrs. Council, Inc. v. McNary, 969 F.2d 1326 (2d Cir. 1992), vacated as moot sub nom Sale v. Haitian Ctrs. Council, Inc., 113 S. Ct. 3028 (1993) [hereinafter HCC 1] and in Haitian Ctrs. Council, Inc. v. McNary 969 F.2d 1350 (2d Cir. 1992), rev'd sub nom Sale v. Haitian Ctrs. Council, Inc., 113 S. Ct. 2549 (1993) [hereinafter HCC 11]. These remarks were made on November 6, 1992, at a meeting of the American Branch of the International Law Association in New York. 1. See, e.g., The Lowenstein Human Rights Clinic, Aliens and the Duty of Nonrefoulement: Haitian Centers Council v. McNary, 6 Harv. Hum. Rts. J. 1 (1993); Christina Carole de Matteis, Forced Return of Haitian Migrants Under Executive Order 12,807: A Violation of Domestic and International Law, 18 N.C. J. Int'l L & Com. Reg. 431 (1993); Symposium. The Haitian Refugee Crisis: A Closer Look, 7 Geo. Immigr. LJ. (1993).