The Conflict

Faced with a growing stream of illegal immigrants coming into the country in the 1990s, Australia imposed strict measures, detaining illegal immigrants who had made it into the country and prohibiting entry to others. Immigrants have reacted within the detention centers with violence and protest, attracting international attention. The problems Australia faces in trying to impose an orderly immigration process are being experienced in destination countries worldwide, and their solution goes well beyond current immigration policy.

Political

• No international agreements specifically regulate immigration; it remains a prerogative of individual states.
• In the last two decades, the number of people seeking to immigrate, or who become refugees or asylum seekers because of interstate wars, civil strife, economic hardship, or environmental disaster, has risen rapidly. The...