Australia’s Labor Party is seeking legislation that would ban citizens of Iran and Iraq from arriving in the country unless their governments accept immigration detainees that the country wants to deport, Sky News said on Tuesday.
The draft legislation that went through the Labor caucus on Tuesday seeks to jail for one to five years detainees who do not agree to their forced removal.
It would also allow the Australian government to ban certain “removal concern countries” including Iran and Iraq.
It comes in response to an upcoming High Court challenge from an Iranian detainee known by the pseudonym ASF17.
According to an explanatory memorandum, the bill seeks to impose a ban on new visa applications for non-citizens from countries that do not accept involuntary removals of people who have no valid reason to remain in Australia.
The ministers of Home Affairs and Immigration have warned an upcoming court decision could force Australia to release hundreds of detainees, according to Sky News.
Guardian Australia said there were 69 people from Iran, 34 from Sudan, and 24 from Iraq in immigration detention and their governments would not accept involuntary removals.
