166
Opinion of the Court
which Kennedy, J., joined, post, p. 179. Thomas, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Kent L. Jones argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs were Solicitor General Starr, Assistant Attorney General Gerson, Deputy Solicitor General Roberts, Leonard Schaitman, and Bruce G. Forrest.
Michael Dean Ray, pro se, argued the cause for respondents. With him on the brief were Neil Dwight Kolner and Eric J. Sinrod.*
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the Department of State produced 25 documents containing information about Haitian nationals who had attempted to immigrate illegally to the United States and were involuntarily returned to Haiti. Names of individual Haitians had been deleted from 17 of the documents. The question presented is whether these deletions were authorized by FOIA Exemption 6, which provides that FOIA disclosure requirements do not apply to "personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." 5 U. S. C. § 552(b)(6).
I
Haiti is a densely populated nation located about 500 nautical miles southeast of Florida on the western third of the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola. Prior to 1981, its history of severe economic depression and dictatorial government
*Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the American Civil Liberties Union et al. by Debra A. Valentine, David L. Sobel, John A. Powell, Lucas Guttentag, and Gary M. Stern; for the American Newspaper Publishers Association et al. by Robert C. Bernius, René P. Milam, Barbara Wartelle Wall, Jane E. Kirtley, Richard M. Schmidt, Bruce W. Sanford, James E. Grossberg, and George Freeman; and for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights et al. by David C. Vladeck and Alan B. Morrison.
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