deportations

man sitting on the grass

Columbia University postgraduate and pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil dictated this letter from his cell in an immigration detention centre in Louisiana, on March 18.

statue of liberty crumbling and two framed faces

The attacks on immigrants, international students and permanent residents in the United States are a grim reminder of the long history of deportations and border control as a strategy to punish political radicals, writes Malik Miah.

prisoner's hands behind wire

More than 200 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States to El Salvador are being held under harsh conditions in the country’s Terrorism Confinement Centre. Meanwhile, the US is threatening further economic sanctions against Venezuela, reports Chris Slee.

People in indefinite detention across the country held peaceful protests demanding their release. Chloe DS reports.

Ending deportations will be the real character test for the new Labor government, writes Janet Parker.

Three hundred people rallied on May 24 to show solidarity with refugees, who face increasing attacks following the re-election of the Coalition government.

Refugee rights activists rallied outside Qantas offices in Sydney and Jetstar offices in Melbourne on August 9 as part of a national campaign calling on the Qantas airline to refuse to deport asylum seekers to danger.

A number of airlines around the world are refusing to take part in deportations. However, Qantas and Virgin Australia have, so far, not joined the boycott.

The Australian Refugee Action Network (ARAN) held its inaugural conference on May 20-21 at the Australian National University in Canberra. It brought together more than 150 activists and representatives of 48 refugee advocacy and activist groups from around the country. 

Participants included a large number of activists from Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) groups. RAR held its own national meeting over the conference, and elected a new leadership. The proposal to form ARAN came out of discussion at last year’s RAR conference.

Huge pro-choice counter-protests overwhelm 'Defund Planned Parenthood' actions

Anti-abortion groups called for 'Defund Planned Parenthood' demonstrations at more than 200 Planned Parenthood locations throughout the United States on February 11 to pressure President Donald Trump to strip the women's health provider of federal funding.

Jasmine Pilbrow, a refugee rights activist who tried to stop the deportation of a Tamil asylum seeker, was sentenced on November 11 to a two-year good behaviour bond. No conviction was recorded.

In February last year, Pilbrow was among a group of activists trying to prevent the deportation of asylum seeker Puvaneethan.

She bought a ticket on his flight and once on board distributed flyers and refused to sit down unless he was allowed off the flight.

She was arrested by AFP officers and later charged with interfering with a cabin crew member and found guilty.

About 200 people rallied on June 26 demanding people charged under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958 be freed and allowed to stay in Australia. More than 190 people, mostly New Zealanders, have been ripped away from their families and put in prison on Christmas Island, 380 kilometres south of Java and 2650 kilometres north-west of Perth, pending deportation. The numbers are set to increase.
My name is Stephanie O’Donnell, but I also go by “the girl from the plane”. On December 19, my partner and I were at Sydney Airport on our way to Heathrow via Beijing. We had booked the cheapest flight available and were waiting to check in for flight CA174, when a plucky activist approached us.