HRC and the Haitian refugees need immediate relief to enjoin these repatriations in violation of United States and international law. Currently, there are approximately six thousand Haitian refugees being detained by the United States in Guantanamo. The threat of ongoing repatriations is imminent. Absent this Court's granting of this Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, the Intervenors will suffer irreparable harm. Section chiefs and paramilitary forces still operate in Haiti, particularly in rural areas where the MultiNational force can not or will not operate.
Persons returning to such areas face a real and substantial threat of persecution.
Moreover, a temporary restraining order requiring the parole of unaccompanied Haitian refugee children on Guantanamo is necessary to halt the ongoing trauma and distress that their confinement on Guantanamo is causing them. Conditions on Guantanamo are harsh, especially for non-criminal confinement, and those children should not be expected to endure such conditions. Similarly, the distress of the relatives and friends in the United States of the Haitian refugees on Guantanamo should be stopped by an order requiring the government to release the names of the Haitian refugees on Guantanamo. The Haitian refugees' loved ones in the United States have no way of knowing whether the refugees perished at sea, were returned to Haiti and killed, or are confined in Guantanamo. This court should require an immediate end to this discriminatory and damaging conduct by the government.