Families split by immigration detention
While families with children have been moved to community detention there are still "split" families, where children may be out of detention but one parent isn't. An example is a mother in Villawood, with three dependent teenage children on Bridging Visa Es living in the community with their aunt.
ChilOut is campaigning for all families to be reunited.
A recent Ombudsman report pays particular attention to the Australian kids who are outside the wire, but whose lives have been overlooked in so many of the decisions to cancel their non-citizen parents' permanent residence visas.
In the matter of these Australian children who made this card for their father, who has been in Perth Detention Centre for over 4 years, Justice Michael Kirby said:
KIRBY J: ......................... it is a relevant consideration for the Minister to have before him or her the human development of the children, their health, their psychological health, their happiness, their social educational development as balanced citizens of this country. They (the children) are going to stay and the problem that is presented by what one might say is accepted inadequacies of the issues paper is that the Minister really did not have his attention drawn to those sorts of considerations. It is as if Sir Humphrey has done a little bit of a cut and paste job and not included the things that were favourable to the applicant.
Le v MIMIA [2005] HCATrans 1037 (16 December 2005)