Uniting Church President questions refugee arrangement with USA

The President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Rev. Gregor Henderson, today (Friday 20th April) wrote to the Federal Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Hon. Kevin Andrews MP regarding the Government’s agreement to accept Cuban and Haitian refugees from the US in exchange for refugees currently detained under Australia’s Pacific Solution.

In a joint letter with UnitingJustice, the President asked the Minister to clarify what effect the "Mutual Assistance Arrangement" will have on eligible refugees who may be seeking to join family members in either the USA or Australia only to be ‘traded’ and settled in another country, and to explain the ways in which the arrangement will act as a deterrence to people smugglers – the stated aim of the programme.

The letter further reiterated the Uniting Church’s long-standing concern about offshore detention and the Pacific Solution. For more information about the Pacific Solution and UnitingJustice’s work for the National Assembly on refugees and asylum seekers, visit the UnitingJustice website at http://nat.uca.org.au/unitingjustice/reconcilinghumanity/asylumrefugees/index.htm.

Photo : UCA NEWS