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Keywords

lawsuitstatuteinjunctionappealmotionlienshigh seas
attorneyimmigration lawliensrelevancehigh seas

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Sale v. Haitian Centers Council, Inc., 509 U.S. 155, 113 S.Ct. 2549, 125 L.Ed.2d 128, 61 USLW 4684

Facts

The case arose from an Executive Order directing the Coast Guard to intercept vessels illegally transporting passengers from Haiti to the U.S. and return them without determining their refugee status. Organizations representing interdicted Haitians filed a lawsuit claiming that this violated the Immigration and Nationality Act and the United Nations Convention. The District Court denied their motion for a preliminary injunction, leading to an appeal. The Court of Appeals initially reversed the District Court's decision, but the Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve the conflicting interpretations of the law.

On September 23, 1981, the United States and the Republic of Haiti entered into an agreement authorizing the United States Coast Guard to intercept vessels engaged in the illegal transportation of undocumented aliens to our shores.

Issue

Whether the Executive Order allowing the Coast Guard to repatriate undocumented aliens intercepted on the high seas violated § 243(h)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Article 33 of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

The question presented in this case is whether such forced repatriation, “authorized to be undertaken only beyond the territorial sea of the United States,” violates § 243(h)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA or Act).

Rule

The Supreme Court ruled that neither § 243(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act nor Article 33 of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees applies to actions taken by the Coast Guard on the high seas.

Held: Neither § 243(h) nor Article 33 limits the President's power to order the Coast Guard to repatriate undocumented aliens intercepted on the high seas.

Analysis

The Court analyzed the text and structure of the Immigration and Nationality Act, concluding that § 243(h)(1) applies only within the United States and does not extend to actions taken outside U.S. territory. The Court also examined the legislative history of the Refugee Act of 1980, which indicated that the amendment did not intend to provide extraterritorial application. Furthermore, the Court found that Article 33 of the Convention was similarly limited to refugees physically present in the host country.

The INA's text and structure demonstrate that § 243(h)(1)—which provides that “[t]he Attorney General shall not deport or return any alien … to a country if the Attorney General determines that such alien's life or freedom would be threatened in such country …”—applies only in the context of the domestic procedures by which the Attorney General determines whether deportable and excludable aliens may remain in the United States.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals' decision, holding that the Executive Order and the actions of the Coast Guard did not violate the Immigration and Nationality Act or the United Nations Convention.

In sum, all available evidence about the meaning of § 243(h)—the government official at whom it is directed, its location in the Act, its failure to suggest any extraterritorial application, the 1980 amendment that gave it a dual reference to “deport or return,” and the relevance of that dual structure to immigration law in general—leads unerringly to the conclusion that it applies in only one context: the domestic procedures by which the Attorney General determines whether deportable and excludable aliens may remain in the United States.

Who won?

The United States government prevailed in the case, as the Supreme Court upheld its authority to repatriate undocumented aliens intercepted on the high seas, finding that the relevant statutes did not apply extraterritorially.

The President has directed the Coast Guard to intercept vessels illegally transporting passengers from Haiti to the United States and to return those passengers to Haiti without first determining whether they may qualify as refugees.

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