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Australia dismayed by US delay in taking in refugees

Friday, 21 July 2017 9:10 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 21 July 2017 9:14 AM ]

Australia’s Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton

Australia has expressed disappointment over the United States’ refusal to resettle hundreds of its rejected refugees under a deal that was sealed before the US President Donald Trump administration took office.

Australia’s Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton said on Friday that Canberra wanted the refugees to start moving in July, but the US had already filled its 50,000 refugee quota for the current fiscal year.

“We’re disappointed that they haven’t been able to move this month, which was my hope, but their new program year starts on October 1, and we’re working with both the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that we can get people off as quickly as possible,” Dutton said in a press briefing.

This is while the US administration of former US president Barack Obama had agreed to accept up to 1,250 refugees among hundreds of asylum seekers — mostly from Iran, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka — who have remained captive for up to four years in immigration camps on the impoverished Pacific island nations of Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

Trump scolded Aussie Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during their first phone conversation as national leaders in January over the accord, describing it as “dumb” in a tweet message.

The American president further said the refugees would undergo “extreme vetting” before they were accepted. However, little detail has emerged about what that would entail.

Australia will not settle any refugees who try to arrive by boat as part of an official policy aimed at discouraging asylum seekers from attempting the potentially deadly ocean crossing from Indonesia.

Canberra instead pays Papua New Guinea and Nauru to house the refugees in camps, which have been plagued by reports of abuse and draconian conditions.

Dutton also said that he was determined to shut down the men-only camp on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea by the end of October. Asylum seekers on Manus who were rejected by the US would be transferred to Nauru, which is to remain open indefinitely.

Last month, the Australian government reached a legal settlement of 90 million Australian dollars (68 million US dollars) with more than 1,900 asylum seekers who had sued Canberra over their abusive treatment on Manus.

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