11: Immigration and refugees Flashcards
(16 cards)
Migrant:
a person who moves from one place to another, especially in order to find work or better living conditions
Immigrant
a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country
Emigrant
a person who leaves their own country in order to settle permanently in another
The White Australia Policy
is an infamous example of policy reflecting the inherent racism present within Australian society and politics. The Immigration Restriction Act (1901) that is commonly referred to as The White Australia Policy provided preferential treatment for potential migrants from various nations, and created barriers for potential migrants from other nations that were considered less desirable. The less desirable nations were specific to migration from China, the South Sea Islands, and other non-English speaking nations where the population was not ‘white’ . There was fear amongst the community that jobs would be taken by non-white migrants who would be content working for lower pay and worse conditions.
The final remnants of the White Australia Policy were abolished by the Whitlam government in 1973 with these steps taken:
legislate that all migrants, of whatever origin, be eligible to obtain citizenship after three years of permanent residence
issue policy instructions to overseas posts to totally disregard race as a factor in the selection of migrants and
ratify all international agreements relating to immigration and race
Susequent governments have followed suit
Broadly speaking, the permanent visa options are split into four streams:
Family, business/investor, work/ retirement or special talent
A family-stream permanent visa:
this includes partners, children parents or dependent relatives of an Australian citizen, permanent resident of Australia or eligible New Zealand citizens. Specific requirements depend on the visa, however, in general to be eligible a person must meet certain health, character and economic requirements.
A work-stream permanent visa:
these are designed to improve the productivity of Australia and fill skill shortages. Most often there is a requirement to be sponsored by an employer.
A business or investor-stream permanent visa:
persons who have a lot of money to spend in Australia can be accepted to establish or invest in businesses in Australia.
Other options
such as retirement (able to support themselves and spend money in Australia) or a ‘distinguished talent’ (e.g. an elite athlete)
Seeking Asylum
There is a difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee. An asylum seeker is a person who has applied for protection as a refugee but whose claims have not yet been processed. Most refugees have sought asylum at some point
Refugee
Any person who owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country
respecting the principle of non-refoulement
that is, not sending refugees to a place where they are at risk of persecution, or to a country which might send them to such a place;
the Refugee Program
for people recognised as refugees and often referred by the UNHCR as in need of resettlement,
Humanitarian Program
for people who, while not necessarily being refugees, are subject to substantial discrimination amounting to a gross violation of their human rights in their country of origin.
The Humanitarian Program requires that a person have ‘substantial links’ to the Australian community, often in the form of a community proposer. While this enables the reunification of family members, there are concerns that a greater emphasis on resettling refugees with community links undermines the principle that Australia should be taking the most vulnerable, as identified by UNHCR. There are community concerns that Australia is ‘cherry-picking’ refugees based on other criteria, such as English language, skills or religion.
Deportation and removals
A person can be forcibly removed from Australia by deportation or removal. Deportation applies to Australian permanent residents and requires an order under section 206 of the Migration Act 1958. Removal applies to people who are unlawful non-citizens (that is, they do not have a lawful right to be in Australia, such as a tourist visa) and does not require an order to be made. Unlawful non-citizens may be held in immigration detention before being removed from Australia. You might notice that in referring to asylum seekers, particularly those that arrive to Australia by boat, that the Australian government refers to them as unlawful non-citizens. In this way, the lawful act of claiming asylum is ignored, and the people are framed as ‘illegals’.
