Refugees accepted by US stuck in Australia under Trump freeze, says official

30/1/2025 15:38

Dozens of refugees who arrived in Australia by boat a decade ago and expected to resettle in the United States have been affected by the Trump Administration's freeze on refugee programs, an Australian official told Reuters.



Australia is "awaiting further advice" from the United States government on the ongoing operation of its refugee programme, suspended by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, a Home Affairs spokesperson said.



"Less than 30 transitory individuals continue to pursue resettlement in the United States through the U.S. resettlement arrangement – cases are at various stages of the process," he said.



Australia does not allow asylum seekers who arrive by boat to settle in the country. Canberra introduced a tough policy of offshore processing a decade ago, where boat arrivals were transferred to camps in the Pacific Island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea (PNG) for assessment of refugee claims.



Under a 2016 deal struck with the Obama Administration, the United States agreed to resettle up to 1250 refugees from the PNG and Nauru offshore processing centres.