Opinion ID: 587250
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Congress has authorized the President's policy.

Text: 217 Plaintiffs assert that even if the President's actions do not contravene § 243(h)(1) and Article 33, they are nonetheless without legal authority. The government, in response, relies on INA §§ 212(f) and 215(a)(1), 8 U.S.C. §§ 1182(f), 1185(a)(1) (1988), which read as follows: 218 § 1182(f) [INA § 212(f) ] Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by President. Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens would be detrimental to the United States, he may ... suspend the entry of all aliens ... or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem appropriate. 219 § 1185(a)(1) [INA § 215(a)(1) ]. Travel Control of citizens and aliens 220 (a) Restrictions and prohibitions. Unless otherwise ordered by the President, it shall be unlawful--(1) for any alien to depart from or attempt to depart from or enter the United States except under such reasonable rules, regulations, and orders, and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may prescribe.... 221 The majority dismisses these provisions on the grounds that the President's authority to regulate entry does not permit him to return refugees to Haiti. Majority Op. at 1366. The majority's attempt to distinguish between entry restrictions and repatriation, however, does not withstand scrutiny. In the context of this case the two policies are inextricably intertwined. As the record makes clear, most Haitians seeking entry set sail on the 600 mile ocean voyage in overcrowded, unseaworthy craft with a demonstrable risk to life (evidenced in one case by a May 17, 1992 capsizing with a loss of half of the boat's forty passengers). The President cannot simply draw a line in the sea over which no Haitian vessel may cross. To do so would risk additional sea disasters with the attendant loss of life. Faced with this difficult policy choice which, I note, courts are without competency to evaluate, Chicago & Southern Air Lines v. Waterman S.S. Corp., 333 U.S. 103, 111, 68 S.Ct. 431, 436, 92 L.Ed. 568 (1948), the President has determined that the only feasible way to regulate entry is to promptly interdict and repatriate Haitian vessels. Congress' broad delegation of the power to impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions [the President] may deem appropriate, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f) (1988), and to establish reasonable ... orders regulating entry, 8 U.S.C. § 1185(a)(1) (1988), easily encompass this policy choice. 222 Insofar as the majority relies on the assertion that the government may be interdicting Haitians seeking entry to countries other than the United States, Majority Op. at 1367, I note that this issue is not properly before our Court. As plaintiffs themselves state: [t]his case ... [involves] defendants' blanket decision to implement an immigration policy ... in massive disregard for [plaintiffs'] asylum claims. Plaintiff's Brief at 30 (emphasis added). The plaintiffs in this case are seeking asylum in, and thus entry into, the United States. This litigation does not properly present the question of aliens seeking passage to other nations. 223 Accordingly, INA § 212(f) and § 215(a)(1) fully authorize the challenged Presidential action. Even if Congress had not authorized the May 23, 1992 policy, I would find sufficient authority in the President's inherent powers over immigration, see Knauff v. Shaughnessy, 338 U.S. 537, 542, 70 S.Ct. 309, 312, 94 L.Ed. 317 (1950), and foreign affairs, see United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp., 299 U.S. 304, 320, 57 S.Ct. 216, 221, 81 L.Ed. 255 (1936). 224