Immigration

Booing by right-wing groups of Indigenous leaders giving speeches marred Anzac Day ceremonies for a second year runningGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn anti-immigration group asked followers how loud they would be booing welcome to country ceremonies at Anzac Day dawn services before multiple events were disrupted on Saturday. But the group has denied orchestrating a campaign, despite doubling down on its criticism of what it called “woke rituals”.Booing by right-wing groups of Indigenous elders giving welcome to country speeches marred Anzac Day ceremonies for a second year running, and sparked another public debate about their role at public events. Uncle Ray Minniecon, who served in the armed forces nd was booed while giving a welcome at Sydney’s dawn service, said the mocking was “unexpected and unnecessary, but it happens”. Continue reading...

Footage posted online shows police telling people they were being removed due to suspicion they would interrupt ceremonyWestern Australian police say they proactively blocked 15 members of “issue motivated groups” from attending Anzac Day commemorations, following disruptions that marred earlier ceremonies in the eastern states.One man was arrested at the Sydney dawn service at Martin Place, where there was a small but noisy interjection of booing during the Indigenous acknowledgment of country. Booing also marred ceremonies in Melbourne and Perth. Continue reading...

US judge orders release of a woman and her five children who were family of the 2025 Colorado fire attack suspectA woman and her five children, whose immigration detention of more than 10 months marked the longest family detention under Donald Trump’s second administration, were released on Thursday hours after a judge’s order, their lawyer said.US district judge Fred Biery of the western district of Texas ordered the family’s release. Continue reading...

Bill clears 50–48 vote to boost ICE and CBP funding as Democrats oppose and shutdown continuesUS politics live – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailSenate Republicans on Thursday approved a plan to fund Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants for the remainder of his term and pave the way for an end to the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).The budget resolution adopted along a near party line vote in the early morning hours sets the stage for Congress to craft legislation allocating as much as $140b to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), two agencies at the forefront of Trump’s mass deportation agenda that have been without funding since mid-February, when the DHS shutdown began. Continue reading...

Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to ask MPs to back controversial voluntary repatriation schemeItalian lawyers will be paid bonuses if they successfully convince their immigrant clients to return home under a government plan that has been compared to a “wild west-style bounty”.The incentive is in the latest security bill from Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government and goes to the lower house of parliament for final approval this week. It was passed by the upper house after fiery debate. Continue reading...

Meenu Batra, the state’s only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu interpreter, says she was treated ‘like a criminal’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA Texas court interpreter who was arrested by ICE after living in the US for more than 35 years is speaking out from detention, saying she has been “treated like a criminal” and fears being deported to a country where she has never been.Meenu Batra is the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu court interpreter in the state, and has served as an interpreter for hundreds of people in immigration court. Continue reading...

Residents south of the refinery in Corio warned to shelter inside due to smokeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNationals leader Matt Canavan defended the Coalition’s planned crack down on immigrations as “fair and reasonable” and that migrants would understand the policy.Asked on 7.30 last night how Australia’s migrant communities would see the plan, Canavan referred to the “rigour” of the naturalisation process his Italian grandparents went through in the 1950s and his own publicised Section 44 high court citizenship saga (which he said ultimately proved him to be a “dinky-di Aussie”). He said:It’s fair and reasonable that we set high standards to join the club of Australians and I’m sure migrants here today want to see that …We have a Government that has put its head in the sand now and has not listened to the Australian people that clearly want change.I think we should discriminate on values …We shouldn’t discriminate on colour, religion, sexuality, gender, but surely … we should discriminate on people who don’t support democracy, who profess support for terrorism or violence, who don’t believe in equality between male and female genders. People who have those views I don’t want them in our country.I’ll comment that the Robert Frost line in that poem was delivered in irony.But we’ll return to that another day along with many other questions, thank you for joining us … Continue reading...

Burke says Taylor chasing votes lost to One Nation while cricket great urges opposition to admit policy would discriminate against MuslimsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAngus Taylor’s plans to favour immigration from liberal democracies would fundamentally change the character of the nation, Labor has warned, challenging the Coalition to explain where existing deportation powers are insufficient.Home affairs minister Tony Burke lashed Taylor’s new hardline policy, which was unveiled on Tuesday, accusing the Coalition of chasing voters who are moving to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. Continue reading...

• The Trump administration has fired over 100 immigration judges as part of broader personnel changes during the president's second term. • The mass dismissals represent a significant restructuring of the immigration court system and reflect the administration's policy priorities. • The firings raise questions about the future administration of immigration cases and the judicial review process.

Howard-era former minister Amanda Vanstone criticises parts of hardline policy but backs English language requirementGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFormer Howard government minister Amanda Vanstone has warned Angus Taylor against turning immigration into heavy-handed law enforcement, saying most migrants from countries run by dictators and extremists move here to escape authoritarianism.Releasing the first elements of a new hardline immigration policy on Tuesday, the opposition leader sparked criticism from refugee advocates, Pauline Hanson and even one sitting Liberal MP, who all likened the plans to policies from US president Donald Trump. Continue reading...

The Coalition might be in opposition to Labor but it is hoping to stem its loss of voters to Pauline Hanson – and Taylor’s speech shows how the party wants to be seenGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt was not long ago that the notion of Australia as the world’s most successful multicultural country was not just a bipartisan political position but a source of national pride, expressed as enthusiastically by Liberals as their Labor counterparts.“I believe, no, I know that Australia is the most successful multicultural immigration country on the planet,” the then Liberal prime minister, Scott Morrison, told the National Press Club in 2021. Continue reading...

Tony Burke says millions of people will be asking why the Liberals have a problem with their parents ‘who don’t speak great English but are great Australians’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor has accused Angus Taylor of “desperate dog-whistling” and says millions of Australians will be asking why the Liberal party has a problem with their parents who don’t speak English, amid a backlash to the opposition’s new hardline immigration policies.Immigration advocates, crossbenchers, and the race discrimination commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, have all criticised a new speech by Taylor, with the Greens likening the Coalition’s approach to a modern revival of the discriminatory White Australia policy. Continue reading...

• The Trump administration fired six immigration judges on Friday, including Judge Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, for dismissing high-profile deportation cases against international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests. • Patel ruled in January that there were no grounds to deport Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk, targeted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio after her critical op-ed on Tufts University's Palestine stance; Froes ended proceedings against Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi in February. • The judges reported pressure from the administration to approve more deportations, as revealed in interviews with The New York Times.

Rick Jackson is flooding Georgia’s media markets with ads attacking immigrants, transgender people and DEIA campaign ad from Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson pledging that unauthorized immigrants committing violent crimes will end up “deported or departed” has inundated streaming services and social media in Georgia for weeks.“I don’t care if you’re a Muslim or a Mongolian, you don’t have the right to force your culture on our country,” the Jackson ad begins. “Too often, criminal illegals commit sick, violent crimes, victimize our children and get away with murder. So here’s my guarantee to them: do that when I’m governor, and you’ll end up deported or departed. Any questions?” Continue reading...

Exclusive: Documents viewed by Guardian Australia reveal private prison contractor told staff ‘restraints must be used’ for all risk levelsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe American private prison company running Australia’s onshore immigration detention system has ordered that all detainees be handcuffed while travelling – regardless of whether they pose a risk – after a string of security lapses.More than a dozen escapes or attempted escapes have taken place since the Management and Training Corporation (MTC) began operating the immigration detention centres last March, having won a $2.3bn contract with the Department of Home Affairs. Continue reading...

Experts say our preoccupation with net overseas migration figures has distracted from a more meaningful discussion on the ‘scale of temporariness’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia should set immigration targets to achieve a “stable temporary population” to address the ballooning number of nonpermanent residents that has stretched the country’s public services and housing, a new report argues.Temporary migrants as a share of the total population has more than doubled over the past 15 years, from 2.7% in 2010, to more than 6%. Continue reading...

• Trump's border chief issued threats Tuesday to close customs operations at top U.S. airports as pressure intensifies on immigration enforcement and border security policies. • The threat represents an escalation in the administration's hardline stance on immigration and signals potential disruption to airport operations and international travel. • The move would significantly impact commerce and travel if implemented, prompting expected pushback from airline and business groups.

• Federal judges blocked Trump administration actions that canceled asylum appointments for hundreds of thousands of migrants and terminated temporary legal status for up to 900,000 immigrants, ruling the administration acted unlawfully. • A federal judge threw out a Justice Department lawsuit against Denver and Colorado sanctuary laws, determining the federal government cannot override state and local decisions on resource allocation. • Judge Leon ruled Trump cannot restructure the White House ballroom without Congressional authorization, stating the president is a "steward" of the building, not its "owner"—a decision Trump disputed on Truth Social.

Exclusive: Starmer urged to go further with exemptions if he wants to avoid widespread anger from his own MPsA number of ministers concerned about Shabana Mahmood’s immigration changes are working behind the scenes with backbenchers to secure more exemptions, the Guardian has learned.Keir Starmer is consulting on the proposed changes, which would make it harder to achieve settled status in the UK, and is under pressure from within his own party to say the measures should not apply to people who have already entered the UK. Continue reading...

Attorneys for Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born US green card holder, say he was targeted for criticizing IsraelSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque was detained by federal immigration agents, drawing accusations from local officials and religious leaders that the arrest was motivated by his statements against Israel.Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident of the United States, was taken into custody by nearly a dozen US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Monday in Milwaukee after he left his home, according to the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. Continue reading...

• Last August, the Trump administration ordered states to reverify immigration status of hundreds of thousands of Medicaid enrollees, but findings from five states show few immigrants without legal status improperly receiving benefits. • States paid Deloitte and other firms millions to comply with the law aimed at cutting Medicaid rolls, with federal officials mandating reverification of enrollee immigration data. • The reviews highlight limited evidence of widespread ineligibility, raising questions about the policy's effectiveness and costs to update systems amid ongoing crackdowns.

Madeleine Sumption says politicians make big claims about things they only partially control to appeal to votersKeir Starmer’s pledge to “smash the gangs” profiting from small boat crossings has followed a pattern set by Conservative-led governments of employing “bullish rhetoric” with little evidence that it can be delivered, an expert has claimed.Madeleine Sumption, the director of the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, says the prime minister has repeated the mistakes of Rishi Sunak and David Cameron by making “bold claims with great certainty about things governments only partially control” . Continue reading...

• On March 25, 2026, the U.S. House passed H.R. 5103 by 218-206, establishing a federal commission on public safety in Washington, D.C., to formalize President Trump's March 2025 executive order promoting maximum immigration enforcement. • The commission, comprising federal officials, will develop policies redirecting law enforcement for arrests and deportations in DC, aiming to increase enforcement speed. • This partisan measure underscores Republican priorities on capital safety and immigration amid ongoing debates over federal versus local authority.

• President Trump ordered federal immigration agents to assist TSA at U.S. airports by guarding exit lanes and checking IDs amid a partial DHS shutdown causing hourslong traveler waits and unpaid screeners. • Democrats express concerns that adding ICE presence could escalate tensions, demanding changes to immigration operations following deaths of two U.S. citizens by agents in Minneapolis. • Senate advanced Sen. Markwayne Mullin's nomination as DHS secretary by 54-37 vote, potentially confirming him Monday after Kristi Noem's tenure; border czar Tom Homan leads the airport effort.

• President Trump directed federal immigration agents to assist TSA at US airports during a partial shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding, with agents guarding exit lanes and checking passenger IDs unless Democrats agree to fund the agency. • White House border czar Tom Homan is leading the airport security effort and has been meeting with bipartisan senators, though negotiations have not yet reached total agreement on resolving the shutdown. • Democrats are demanding major changes to federal immigration operations and have stated willingness to fund TSA and most DHS components, citing concerns about escalated tensions among frustrated travelers and unpaid screeners.

Families, advocates and lawmakers say poor care, opaque investigations and bureaucracy leave deaths unexplainedSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe circumstances of many of the record number of deaths in US immigration custody under the second Trump administration have left loved ones often searching in vain for answers amid a lack of transparency over key investigations.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reports mandated by Congress, autopsy reports and 911 calls collected by the Guardian raise questions about the quality of medical care, allegedly inadequate or haphazard responses to emergencies, and contraction of diseases and infections inside detention facilities that in some cases contributed to detainee deaths. Continue reading...

Officials understood to be investigating use of visas by company linked to Ahmadi Religion of Peace and LightThe Home Office is investigating a company linked to a religious sect based in Cheshire over its use of immigration visas.The company under investigation is linked to the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL), a sect that blends tenets of Islam with conspiracy theories about the Illuminati and aliens controlling US presidents. Followers believe the sect’s leader, Abdullah Hashem, can cure the sick and make the moon disappear. About 100 of his followers live in a former orphanage in Crewe, in the north-west of England. Continue reading...

• Markwayne Mullin appeared before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on March 18 for his confirmation hearing as Trump's DHS nominee, replacing fired Secretary Kristi Noem, and pledged to secure funding for the department amid a Democratic standoff over immigration enforcement constraints. • Mullin defended Trump's mass deportation agenda against Democratic concerns about aggressive enforcement operations, while Republican Sen. Rand Paul challenged Democrats' criticism and Mullin stated "We just don't get along" with Paul during heated exchanges. • Democrats, led by Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, expressed reservations about Mullin's readiness, citing reports that DHS officers have been accused of smashing car windows, roughing up bystanders recording activities, and detaining immigrants in poor conditions.