2,000 Haitian refugees in US ordered released

June 30, 1982

A federal judge Tuesday ordered the immediate release of about 2,000 Haitian refugees who have landed in the United States illegally over the past year. The government immediately appealed, seeking to block their release.

District Court Judge Eugene Spellman laid down a strict set of conditions designed to ensure that the Haitians now in US detention camps would report when summoned to appear before immigration judges.