I signed the deal to resettle some of Australia’s refugees from Nauru and Manus Island in the US. I wanted to see how they are faring now
The refugees who’ve made it to the US are working hard and putting down roots, hoping to achieve the American dream.’ Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
Two years ago, Australia’s then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called to congratulate Donald Trump on his inauguration, and to elicit the new president’s support for continuing an agreement between Australia and the US. Australia had stopped thousands of asylum seekers from reaching its shores and had arranged to detain them on islands in the South Pacific; the US had agreed to resettle some in America. The transcript of the phone conversation makes clear that the deal was a top priority for Turnbull and an unwelcome surprise for Trump, who called it “a rotten deal”.