The Tragic Plight of HIV-Infected Haitian Refugees at Guantanamo Bay

Last June marked the 14th anniversary of the closing of the world’s first, and only, HIV camp at Guantanamo Bay. This article revisits the infamous legacy of the Guantanamo Bay camp and the plight of the HIV-infected Haitian political refugees during the early 1990’s. Part I summarises the development of the United States’ immigration policy and the government’s history for excluding immigrants for health related reasons. Part II details the factual and historical background leading to the mass exodus of the Haitians and the sequence of tragic events which resulted in their confinement at Guantanamo Bay. Part III focuses on the seminal case of Haitian Centers Council, Inc. v. Sale (II) (Haitian Centers Council, Inc. v. Sale, 823 F. Supp. 1028, 1049 (E.D.N.Y. 1993)) which was responsible for bringing about the closure of the HIV camp and granting parole to all HIV-infected refugees to enter the United States. The anticipated revolutionary reform of the HIV-exclusion policy emanating from this legal triumph never materialized. The United States government successfully sought to have the case vacated from the Court’s books. Consequently, the landmark precedent does not technically exist today. What does remain is the notorious HIV-exclusion policy which was distorted by the United States government to justify their detainment. Although the epic legal and emotional struggles of the Haitians are forgotten by many, the legacy of Guantanamo Bay continues to haunt the lives of those who were prisoners of the HIV camp.