<i>Haitian Centers Council, Inc. v. McNary</i>: If at First You Don't Succeed...

At what territorial point do aliens become entitled to the protections accorded them under the Immigration and Naturalization Act ("INA")? Contrary to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals holding in Haitian Refugee Center, Inc. v. Baker, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Haitian Centers Council, Inc. v. McNary held that the protections accorded aliens in Section 243(h)(1) of the INA apply to all aliens, regardless of their location within or outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. The Eleventh Circuit in Baker had previously determined that Section 243(h)(1) applied only to aliens found within the jurisdictional confines of the United States as defined in the INA. The Supreme Court will soon resolve this split among circuits.