US-Australia Refugee Swap Deal Has No Chance to Be Implemented

The deal between Australia and the United States to resettle refugees from Manus and Nauru islands is no longer to be implemented, a source familiar with the deal said as quoted by The Guardian Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The deal between Australia and the United States on resettlement of Manus and Nauru islands refugees in the United States has no chance to be implemented, especially following the US banning on the entry of refugees, a source familiar with the deal said as quoted by The Guardian Thursday.

"It’s over. It can’t survive … it was never going to survive Trump’s immigration ban," the source said.

On November 13, 2016, Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a special "one-off" deal with the United States to resettle refugees from Nauru and Manus islands in the United States. On February 1, 2017, the White House stated the deal would still go ahead, with "extreme vetting" measures in place, and mere hours later, the administration backtracked, stating instead that the deal was "still under consideration."

On Wednesday, however, US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation with Turnbull and criticized former administration’s one-time resettlement agreement with Australia, pledging to scrutinize it.

This comes a week after Trump signed an executive order, which blocks all refugees from coming to the United States for 120 days and suspends the entry for people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia for 90 days.

The travel ban, aiming to boost the country's security, has sparked controversy around the world and led to multiple protests in the United States.