Australian High Court rules in favour of indigenous people, says they can't be deported

In a landmark judgment that came from the Australian High Court on Tuesday, Australia can no longer deport its indigenous people even if they are not born in the country. According to media reports, the High Court in Australia was hearing a case of two men who were not born in the country and were convicted of crimes, facing a jail term of more than a year. Daniel Love and Brendan Thoms were born overseas but one of their parents was an indigenous Australian citizen. 

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Australian High Court judgment

As per media reports, Daniel and Brendan had been living in Australia on permanent residency visas but had never applied for citizenship in the country. The Australian government was treating them as foreigners and was planning to deport them to their country of birth. Their visas were revoked in 2018 after the two men were convicted in crimes and Thoms had been living in a detention camp for more than a year now. The men decided to challenge their deportation in Australia's High Court, wherein a 4-3 ruling the bench said that the men must be treated as citizens and can, therefore, remain in the country. Love, however, is still facing a hearing to determine his Australian heritage. 

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Claire Gibbs, a lawyer for the two men while talking to the media said that the case was not about their citizenship, it was about who belongs to Australia and who is an Australian national and part of the Australian community. She further highlighted the fact that Thoms had been living in a detention camp for more than a year now and called on the Australian government for his immediate release. 

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As per media reports, Australia's conservative government has in recent months launched an immigration crackdown where they have been deporting hundreds of foreigners convicted of crimes and is also stripping off their citizenship if they are a dual-nationals. The move by the Australian government has seen many being deported to countries they had left when just children. According to reports, Australia has nearly 700,000 indigenous people and most of them are still living way below the social and economic indicator. 

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