The Wire

82 Sri Lankan asylum seekers have been move from Christmas Island to Nauru, amid growing confusion over who will actually be processing the applications. Kevin Andrews, the Federal Immigration Minister has maintained the group will receive legal representation. He says the International Migration Organization, which he described as an arm of the United Nations, would process their applications. This claim was quickly dismissed, as the body is a non-government organization. But now a migration agent with experience working with Nauru-based asylum seekers has poured doubt on whether this body is up to the task of processing asylum applications, saying that normally the body’s role is that of a “glorified travel agent” that helps transport people once their applications are successful. So just who will be processing the applications? Refugee activist and migration agent Marion Le explained the current situation facing the Sri Lankans, now being housed on Nauru.