Migrants and refugees who commit crimes face an unjust legal system in which they end up detained or deported after serving their prison sentences.
The Prison to Deportation Pipeline report finds that visa cancellations on morality grounds have increased tenfold since 2014, leading to a significant increase in the number of people placed in immigration detention.
The latest government figures show there are 984 people in detention centers, including 824 with criminal backgrounds.
The average length of detention was 513 days (approximately one year and four months).
Researchers from the Human Rights Law Center and the University of Melbourne found that non-citizens have a “structurally different and more restrictive experience in prison” compared to Australian citizens.
While Australian citizens are released after serving their sentence in the community, those subject to visa cancellation are “funneled” from prison to immigration detention centers.
“People on visas face a two-tiered prison system, in which they cannot access the programs, parole and post-release support enjoyed by others, simply because of their visa status. visa,” said Sanmati Verma, legal director of the center.
“People on visas are actually doubly or triple punished.”
Visa holders subject to mandatory cancellations only have 28 days to reverse this decision.
“This system sets visa holders up to fail and lose hope as soon as they are convicted. It must be dismantled,” Verma said.
Government policy and High Court decisions
In a landmark ruling by the High Court last year, .
This triggered the release of more than 200 inmates, whose offenses ranged from minor offenses to more serious crimes, such as murder, into the community.
They remained subject to strict conditions, including daily wearing of an ankle monitor and a curfew between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
This month, the High Court, in a majority judgment, ruled that the measures were punitive.
In response, Home Secretary Tony Burke introduced legislation to reinstate electronic ankle bracelets, curfews and the power to deport people whose visas have been canceled in third countries.
“The first priority is not ankle bracelets or detention of these people, our first priority is we don’t want them in Australia at all,” the minister told parliament.
“That’s why we’ve introduced powers… to improve the government’s ability to remove people from this country in this situation.”
The report says visa cancellation powers do not provide a restorative pathway for offenders after their detention, whether by exporting the problem to other countries or incarcerating them further.
They recommended repealing mandatory visa cancellation provisions and reviewing standards for prison placement, programs, education and parole for noncitizens.
