US Homeland Security officials have begun “extreme vetting” interviews at Australia’s offshore detention centers, two sources at the camps said yesterday, as Washington honors a refugee swap that US President Donald Trump had called “a dumb deal.”
The Trump administration last month said the agreement to offer refuge to up to 1,250 asylum seekers in the centers would progress on condition that refugees satisfied strict checks.
In exchange, Australia has pledged to take Central American refugees from a center in Costa Rica, where the US has expanded intake in recent years, under the deal struck with former US President Barack Obama.
Photo: Reuters
The first security interviews finished last week at Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island detention center, two refugees who went through the process told reporters.
The refugees said that interviews began with an oath to God to tell the truth and then proceeded for as long as six hours, with in-depth questions on associates, family, friends and any interactions with the Islamic State group.
“They asked about why I fled my home, why I sought asylum in Australia,” said one refugee who declined to be named, fearing it could jeopardize his application for US resettlement.
The security interviews are the last stage of US consideration of applicants.
Manus Island is one of two Australian-operated detention centers, which hold about 1,300 people who were intercepted trying to reach Australia by boat.
Human rights groups have condemned the intercept policy and the harsh conditions of the camps. Australia says offshore processing is needed as a deterrent after thousands of people drowned at sea before the policy was introduced in 2013.
A decision on the fate of the first 70 people interviewed is expected to be reached within the next month, a different source who works with refugees said.
A spokesman for the Australian minister for immigration refused to comment.
The US Department of State and White House did not immediately respond to questions.
Trump’s plans for extreme vetting have extended to those traveling to the US from Muslim countries.
Australia’s relationship with the new administration in Washington got off to a rocky start when Trump lambasted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over the resettlement arrangement.
Details of an acrimonious telephone call between the pair soon after Trump took office made headlines around the world.
Australia is one of Washington’s staunchest allies and has sent troops to fight alongside the US military in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The relocation of asylum seekers to the US is designed to help Papua New Guinea and Australia proceed with the planned closure of the Manus detention center on Oct. 31.
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