in their treatment of them.
A Win for Australia’s Controversial Migrant-Detention Policy
Australia’s high court has rejected a challenge to the country’s practice of holding asylum-seekers at a camp on Nauru, the Pacific island nation, a decision that paves the way for the return of more than 250 people—including dozens of babies—who are now in Australia.
At issue is a case brought by the Human Rights Law Center (HRLC) on behalf of a Bangladeshi woman who entered Australia by sea. She was detained by Australian officials and taken to Nauru, which along with Manus Island, part of Papua New Guinea, is where Australia processes its asylum-seekers. The woman was returned to Australia for medical treatment during the late stages of her pregnancy, but appealed her return to Nauru. Lawyers for the woman challenged Australia’s right to detain people on foreign soil. On Wednesday, the court said the government’s actions were both legal and constitutional.
The decision paves the way for the return of about 267 people, including 37 babies born in Australia, to the detention center on Nauru.
HRLC and other immigrant-rights groups say the conditions on Nauru are poor, citing women who say they have been sexually assaulted at the detention center on the island.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/02/australia-migrants-detention/459714/Australian government statistics show that between 2012 and 2013 more than 18,000 people arrived in Australia illegally by sea, compared to just 7,300 between 2011 and 2012.
However, the numbers arriving by sea plunged after the government introduced tough new policies, including the towing back of boats. The government says only one boat of asylum seekers reached Australia in 2014.
The asylum seekers mostly come from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Iran or Myanmar (Burma) where they say they risked violence or persecution.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-28189608Australia Nauru: Asylum seeker fined for attempted suicide
An Iranian asylum seeker has been fined for trying to kill himself during an attempt to move him and his daughter from an Australian-funded detention centre on the island of Nauru.
Sam Nemati, sole guardian of the eight-year-old girl, admitted the charge and was ordered to pay A$200 ($155; £109).
Mr Nemati had been in the detention centre for two years.
...
Prosecutors had originally sought a two-month custodial sentence for Mr Nemati, arguing that such a sentence could be used as a deterrent, Australian media report.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-36057362It's largely a question of accessibility. A voyage along coasts and relatively small stretches of open sea to Australia is a lot easier than going thousands of miles more to Korea or Japan (past China, who aren't likely to be welcoming). Or a transatlantic voyage. What this says about migrants inside the Americas is that the USA is the richest place, and thus somewhere a migrant may find a job.
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