Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber says conflicting court rulings on the detention and release of asylum seekers have complicated immigration enforcement, prompting the department to seek urgent clarity from the courts.
One ruling requires asylum seekers to be released while their applications are processed, while another allows for their detention. A full court is expected to consider the matter later this month.
The department has also withdrawn a directive on asylum seeker applications issued on 28 September following a Constitutional Court ruling.
Home Affairs says the directive was an operational measure to implement the court order and was issued without Schreiber’s knowledge or that of other political office-bearers. It denies that the decision was politically motivated, but says its implementation had serious, unforeseen consequences, with refugee reception offices overwhelmed within days.
Schreiber warns that releasing people arrested for illegal entry could undermine immigration law enforcement.
“Home Affairs immediately reached out to the courts to say, now our life is just impossible. And it must be emphasised, none of this is caused by Home Affairs. This is the courts themselves actually grappling with the realities that we face on a daily basis.”
Photo: Online
