Labor would send out more immigration officers to try to deport visa overstayers exploiting the system under a proposed element of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s plan to overhaul the country’s migration program. Source: The Age.
The government is considering a boost to enforcement operations to put more effort into tracking down overstayers, many of whom are former students or temporary workers, who have exhausted legal options to remain in the country. A large number now work as undocumented migrants.
Cabinet sources said the idea was one element of a broader overhaul taken to cabinet last week by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who is putting together new policies designed to reach the government’s net overseas migration forecast.
Labor has consistently failed to hit its migration targets and is struggling to get the number down from 300,000 to 225,000 a year.
Questions over how to execute the sensitive moves on overstayers contributed to Labor’s decision to delay Mr Burke’s announcement, which was due to come in a National Press Club speech last week.
Migration has turned into a hot-button issue in Canberra and both Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and One Nation’s Pauline Hanson have announced plans to target the growing problem of overstayers.
Conscious that the crackdown will be perceived as a response to One Nation, ministers are working through the policy to make sure it is not seen by migrant communities as an ICE-style, Donald Trump-like move, or weaponised by the Greens in a similar light.
If more money were put into compliance, it would become more common for border officials to investigate tips about undocumented workers at places such as farms, hotels, restaurants and construction sites.
The government does not want to create an aggressive, US-style system. Australia does not have the same problems as the US and UK related to illegal border crossings, yet Labor believes that more focus is probably required to crack down on people exploiting the visa system.
Mr Burke delayed his pitch to increase the government’s control of the migration system to avoid the need to backflip on undercooked measures, as Labor has been forced to do with its tax changes in the May budget.
FULL STORY
Labor ponders deportation focus for visa overstayers in delayed migration overhaul (by Paul Sakkal, The Age)
