After years of detention in camps in the Pacific where the Australia sent illegal immigrants to discourage asylum seekers from entering the country, dozens of migrants were released, non-governmental organizations announced today.
More than sixty people have been allowed to leave in the last two days from hotels and detention centers in Brisbane, Sydney and Darwin, according to the Coalition for Action for Refugees as well as lawyers.
They secured the right to temporary residence after some of them spent up to eight years in offshore detention centers. They were transported to Australia for medical reasons, as explained by AMPE.
Canberra sent irregularities for years Immigrants trying to reach its shores in offshore camps funded on the island of Manos in Papua or in the small state of Nauru to the east, implementing an heavily criticized immigration policy by human rights organizations.
A first group of about sixty people were released in December and January.
Home Secretary Peter Dutton had said on the radio in January that costs less to release migrants from being detained.
Noelin Balasandiran Haredran, of the Sydney West Legal and Migration organization, explained that the releases were made as many immigrants have filed lawsuits challenging the legality of continuing their detention.
“We believe that was the reason why we had shown that he was being held for no reason,” he told AFP.
Ian Ridul, of the Coalition for Refugee Action, called on the government to release 75 migrants still being held in Australia.
It is also estimated that more than 250 migrants remain at a legal impasse in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.
“They have no idea why they were left behind and no idea what their future might be,” he complained.
The Home Office has confirmed that Australia’s policy has not changed and that the government is determined not to allow any refugees to settle in the country permanently.
“People in transit are able to leave for a third country,” a ministry spokesman said. “We encourage them to complete their medical treatment in order to continue their relocation to the United States, return to Papua or Nauru, or even return to their country of origin.”
Dutton, however, admitted that it will be from now on “Very difficult” for the government to force them to leave.
Since 2013, Canberra has been launching all vessels carrying illegal migrants into the sea, arguing that it saves lives by preventing migrants from making the dangerous sea voyage to its shores. Boat arrivals, which were once daily, are now very rare.
The illegal immigrants who managed to cross were sent to camps in Nauru or Manus. They were not allowed to settle permanently in Australia even if they met the criteria to be granted asylum.
Human rights groups have long denounced the living conditions in the camps and the psychological impact of this indefinite detention, especially on children, accusing the government of offering no solution.
(file photo)
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