Sydney — Australia’s government says a group of US-bound refugees has been caught up in President Donald Trump’s crackdown on migration.
Trump issued an executive decree within hours of taking office on January 20, halting arrivals of all refugees to the United States.
Under a 2016 US-Australia agreement, up to 1 250 refugees being held in Australian offshore detention centres were able to seek resettlement in the United States.
By the end of August last year, 1 106 refugees had already moved to the United States, the Australian government said.
“Less than 30 transitory individuals continue to pursue resettlement in the United States through the US resettlement arrangement — cases are at various stages of the process,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs.
Stuck in limbo: Refugees hoping for a fresh start in the U.S. face uncertainty under Trump’s refugee freeze. #RefugeeCrisis #RefugeeProgram #USPolicy #USA #Australia #TrumpAdministration #Trump #DonaldTrump #ExecutiveOrder #HumanRights #Immigration #WorldNews #TheDailyIntake pic.twitter.com/gcodr1hVou
— The Daily Intake (@dailyintake2023) January 30, 2025
Trump’s order affected all refugee applications, including from people temporarily in Australia, the spokesperson said in a statement provided to AFP on Friday.
Australia was “awaiting further advice” from the United States about its plans for the refugee resettlement program, the department said.
Under a hardline policy introduced in 2012, Australia sent thousands of migrants attempting to reach the country by boat to “offshore processing” centres.
They were held in two detention centres — one on Nauru and another, since shuttered, on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island.
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Source: AFP
Picture: X/@TheRichFromCali
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