Page:United States Reports 502 OCT. TERM 1991.pdf/327

 502us1$14I 08-21-96 15:27:02 PAGES OPINPGT

Cite as: 502 U. S. 164 (1991)

169

Opinion of the Court

prepared in March 1985 reported that since the followup program had begun 31/2 years earlier, United States embassy officials in Haiti had interviewed 812 returnees, 22.83 percent of the total migrant interdictee population.3 During that time, the report continued, “only two interdictees have mentioned a threat or mistreatment by the authorities. In one case the claim was unverifiable as there were no witnesses present, in the second case higher authorities intervened to prevent mistreatment by a rural policeman.” 4 In 17 of the documents, the information related to individual interviews, but the names and other identifying information had been redacted before the documents were delivered to respondents.5 The only issue for us to decide is whether that redaction was lawful. close that any documents have been improperly withheld o[r] that they, indeed, exist,” Ray v. United States Department of Justice, 725 F. Supp. 502, 504 (SD Fla. 1989), and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed this finding, Ray v. United States Department of Justice, 908 F. 2d 1549, 1559–1560 (1990). We have no reason to question this finding and, therefore, we are concerned only with the 25 documents containing summaries of interviews with illegal Haitian immigrants who were involuntarily returned to Haiti. 3 Plaintiffs’ Notice of Filing Defendant State Department’s Edited Documents 12. 4 The May 1985 report, the last report in the record, states that as of that date, embassy officials had interviewed 1,052 of the returnees, 23.28 percent of the total migrant returnee population. Id., at 96. The report concluded that the interviews provide “further evidence” that Haiti “is keeping its commitment under the 1981 Migrant Interdiction Agreement not to prosecute or harass returned migrants for their illegal departure,” but noted that “the embassy will continue its follow-up program with the goal of reaching a 25-percent interview rate of returned migrants.” Ibid. 5 For example, one memorandum relates the following: “ is an unemployed 21-year-old living with his mother and five younger siblings in a one-room shack in Delmas. His older brother, who is employed and living in Port-au-Prince, had paid the $100 fare for to travel on the S/V Sainte Marie, interdicted enroute to Miami on 6/13/83. “ explained that he had wanted to live in Miami, although he has no family there. He never went to school and has no marketable skills. says that he is thinking of another attempt to reach the