Migration

Shutting down the Manus Island detention centre by 31 October, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has said, will represent 'the closure of a sad chapter'. Much remains unclear about this planned closure, but the eventual failure of offshore detention 

The Kaldor Centre’s Dr Claire Higgins offers a critique of the Australian government’s decision to transfer a number of asylum seekers residing in the country to the ‘final departure Bridging E Visa’. The Saturday Paper’s Sean Kelly discusses the motivations behind keeping asylum

It has recently been revealed that a Greater London Authority charity map identifying the nationalities of people sleeping rough was used by the UK Home Office to carry out its deportation mandate. Writing for The Saturday Paper, Chris Woods considers the impact of climate change in the Pacific

The UNHCR has expressed growing concern about Australian immigration policy following the leaked Trump-Turnbull transcript and the death of asylum seeker Hamed Shamshiripour on Manus Island. The New York Times’ Roger Cohen has criticised Australia's 'desperate refugee obstinacy

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has released a policy consultation paper on simplifying Australian visa arrangements. Almost 500 submissions were made to the Senate inquiry into the Australian Citizenship Amendment Bill, drafted to strengthen the Australian

Listen to the Kaldor Centre’s podcast on safezones featuring Professor Geoff Gilbert. EU leaders have pledged further support following threats from Italy to close its ports to NGO ships carrying rescued asylum seekers. Writing for the Guardian, Inna Lazareva outlines the

Read Gareth Hutchens’ analysis of the Census 2016 results. The Australian’s David Uren argues migration policy alleviates ageing pressures. Leith van Onselen disagrees. Development Policy Institute’s Matthew Dornan reflects on findings from a recent Horticultural Innovation

The Kaldor Centre's Khanh Hoang unpacks Australia’s private sponsorship program for refugee and humanitarian entrants. On 6 June, The Ethics Centre is holding a debate in Sydney on the Refugee Convention. Grab your tickets here. Panellists include Jane McAdam, Erika Feller and Greg Sheridan.&

It was a morning like any other until Mohammed, the 16-year-old refugee, was arrested by Indonesian immigration officials at a local market. In order to support his family, who had fled Afghanistan to seek asylum in Indonesia, he had taken up work assisting a shopkeeper. Before he had a chance to

ANU's Robin Davies and Stephen Howes discuss the impact of Trump's migration policy in Asia. Writing for the Brookings Institution, Elaine Kamarck argues that Trump's border wall won't happen. US Senator Ted Cruz has introduced the 'El Chapo' bill, which seeks to use funds forfeited

Instead of grasping the opportunity presented by anti-migrant sentiment across the developed world, the Turnbull Government yesterday decided to join the party. And while the talking points and headlines will likely be greeted with satisfaction in some pivotal marginal seats, the rhetoric and policy

Prime Minister Turnbull yesterday carefully signalled a potential India-Australia Free Trade Agreement is not a priority for his government. This comes after the Abbott Government set a very public benchmark for concluding an India-Australia FTA by the end of 2015, an overly optimistic commitment

By Rachael Buckland, an intern with the Lowy Institute's Migration and Border Policy project. Listen to Oxford University’s Forced Migration Review podcasts on refugee resettlement practices around the world. Writing for The Guardian, Helen Roxburgh examines urban migrant experiences in

Forcibly returning unwanted migrants is not only intuitively unpleasant, it is also one of the most difficult areas in the immigration policies of liberal states. Unwanted migrants (or unlawful non-citizens) include those who overstay or misuse their visas, and, most sensitively, what

Last week, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that EU member states are not obliged to issue humanitarian visas to asylum seekers at their overseas missions. A humanitarian visa would enable a third-country national at risk of torture of inhumane treatment to apply in situ for entry

By Rachael Buckland, an intern with the Lowy Institute's Migration and Border Policy program. Murdoch University's Mary Anne Kenny explains who is considered a 'genuine refugee' under Australian law.Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection announced a cut in the length of time

By Rachael Buckland, an intern with the Lowy Institute's Migration and Border Policy project. US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly released two memos detailing the departmental implementation of Trump’s executive orders on border security and immigration enforcement. The NYT Editorial Board

After three decades in the immigration business, I thought I understood how it worked, but now I am convinced I have lost the plot. In the past, governments that were concerned about security threats from individuals of particular nationalities might have quietly intensified scrutiny of visa

By Daniel Thambar, an intern with the Lowy Institute's Migration and Border Policy Project. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order which imposes a 90-day visa ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations, suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days and indefinitely bans all

By Daniel Thambar, an intern with the Lowy Institute’s Migration and Border Policy Project. US President Donald Trump is expected to sign executive orders to restrict immigration from several Middle Eastern and African countries.The battle for western Mosul is expected to start in the coming

By Rachael Buckland, an intern with the Lowy Institute's Migration and Border Policy Project. The NSW Government has announced job assistance training for refugees arriving to the state from Syria and Iraq. Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Miranda Devine questioned the criticism directed

By Rachael Buckland, an intern with the Migration and Border Policy Project. Earlier today the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) released a report examining the economic impacts of migration in Australia. Like the Productivity Commission Report No.77 released earlier this

On 19 September, a UN high-level meeting to address large movements of refugees and migrants is expected to endorse an outcome document that commits states to negotiating a 'Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework' and separately a 'Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration', for

By the Lowy Institute's G20 Fellow Tristram Sainsbury and Research Associate Casper Wuite. Chatham House's Paola Subacchi recently asked why the G20 has not addressed the Syrian refugee crisis. She acknowledges that refugee issues have not historically been within the G20's bailiwick. However, she