Australia commits another $168 million to monitoring migrants

27/11/2023 12:44

        The Australian government on Monday committed an additional 255 million Australian dollars ($168 million) in funding for police and other law enforcement officials to monitor 141 migrants freed when a court ruled their indefinite detention was unconstitutional.
        
        The new funding over two years reflects an increase in the workload of law enforcement officials due to government concerns of a heightened community risk posed by those released following a landmark High Court decision on Nov. 8. That ruling said the government could no longer detain indefinitely foreigners who had been refused Australian visas, but could not be deported to their homelands and no third country would accept them.
        
        The migrants released due to the High Court ruling were mostly people with criminal records. The group also include people who failed visa character tests on other grounds and some who were challenging visas refusals through the courts. They include refugees and stateless people.