'He has to take his chances': the resettlement of a refugee in Australia and his deportation to the country he had fled, 1980–1992. Issue 3 (3rd July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Neumann, Klaus; Taylor, Savitri
• Is Part Of: History Australia. Volume 16:Issue 3(2019)
• Page Start: 459
• Page End: 479
• Publication Date: 2019-07-03
• Subjects: Criminal deportation -- Australian–Cuban relations -- refoulement -- refugee resettlement Australia -- Migration Amendment Act 1991 (Australia); Australia -- History -- Periodicals; Australia; History; Periodicals; 905
• DOI: 10.1080/14490854.2019.1636672
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1449-0854

Abstract

Abstract: Drawing on previously unexamined archival records, this article explores the Australian government's attempts to deport a Cuban national who had been resettled in Australia as a refugee in 1980, in 1987 was sentenced to two years in prison on assault charges, and in 1991 was left stranded at Singapore Airport because Cuba refused to facilitate his repatriation. Before the Singaporean government enforced his return to Australia, Parliament passed the Migration Amendment Bill 1991, which had been amended specifically to ensure his indefinite detention upon his arrival. Highlighting the government's determination to proceed with the deportation, the article explores the political and legal circumstances of the case, and discusses it in light of recent changes to the Migration Act.