More than 40 people who were transferred from Manus Island to Australia for medical treatment under the recently repealed medevac law are reportedly being held on one floor of a Mantra hotel in the inner north of Melbourne under guard. The hotel is designated as an ‘alternative place of accommodation’. Reports from this group indicate that they have no access outside of the hotel unless they apply to visit the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation detention centre in Broadmeadows, and that some men have been in the hotel for months without adequate medical treatment. The Human Rights Commission condemned the detention of the transferees after inspecting conditions this week.
As part of an advertising campaign, the Department of Home Affairs created horoscopes to discourage Sri Lankans from seeking asylum in Australia by boat. The material, obtained under freedom of information laws, imagined various negative predictions for each star sign if they ‘illegally’ travelled to Australia by boat.
A UNSW survey of more than 1000 refugees and asylum seekers found people with uncertain, temporary visas were more likely to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and depression than those with permanent visas. The survey also showed that people with these uncertain visas were also found to be more socially engaged and more involved in the Australian community.
In the US, the Trump administration proposed additional mandatory limits for asylum seekers, specifically targeting migrants who have committed certain crimes. Under the proposal, asylum seekers would be found ineligible for crimes committed in the US such as: a felony under federal or state law, alien smuggling or harbouring, illegal re-entry, crime involving criminal street gang activity, domestic violence (including with no conviction) and offences related to false identification.