Excerpt
US-Australia refugee deal: Trump in ‘worst call’ with Turnbull
What is the deal about?
Australia announced in November 2016 that the US had agreed to a one-off deal to resettle refugees currently being held on Nauru and Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea (PNG).In return, Mr Turnbull's administration agreed to resettle refugees from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, would oversee the deal and the "most vulnerable" would be prioritised, the Australian premier said.No numbers were given and Australian Immigration Department Secretary Mike Pezzullo later told a Senate inquiry that, while those who were eligible could express an interest, it was up to the US to decide how many people it wanted to take.
A total of 1,254 people were being held in the two camps, 871 on Manus Island and 383 in Nauru, as of 30 November 2016, according to Australian government statistics. Mr Trump's tweet incorrectly labelled refugees as illegal, and recast the number who might be resettled as "thousands". Australia refuses to accept refugees who arrive by boat, under a tough deterrent policy. It has already struck resettlement deals with Cambodia and PNG, but only a handful of refugees have been resettled. Critics say the two nations are completely ill-equipped to resettle refugees.
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