Asylum seekers hold up identity documents after landing on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, on Aug. 2, 2013. Eoin Blackwell / AP
All that said, Australia takes in its fair share of refugees and asylum seekers who enter the country through other means in coordination with the UNHCR. It accepted
13,756 refugees in 2014-2015 (the most recent year statistics were available), according to Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Of the refugees and asylum seekers accepted by Australia in 2014-2015, the most came from Iraq and Syria, followed by Myanmar and Afghanistan.
The issue between Trump and Turnbull revolves around the U.S. agreement made by the Obama administration late last year to resettle up to 1,250 asylum seekers being held at the controversial Pacific island camps. Under the terms of the deal, only those who had gone through the rigorous United Nations screening process – that can take as long as 18 to 24 months – and granted refugee status would be eligible to go to the United States.
