ICE-style immigration raids won't be used in Australia, minister says

The government is ramping up enforcement against about 77,000 people who have overstayed visas by creating a 100‑person Border Force team, adding 250 detention beds and exploring repurposing facilities for short‑term holding. The home affairs minister argued this will restore a pre‑2015 approach that routinely detained overstayers long enough for voluntary departures, and insisted operations will be measured and non‑militarised, not resembling US ICE raids. Officials point to constrained capacity since 2015 - when mandatory visa cancellations for some criminals filled detention centres - as the reason overstayers have not been routinely detained, and say reintroducing targeted detention will shift incentives so more people choose to leave.

Reaction is mixed: migration experts and a former senior official call the measures sensible and “soft” in practice, expecting perhaps 5,000-10,000 additional departures a year, while Greens and human rights advocates warn the expansion revives hardline Abbott‑era tactics, risks involvement of private providers and could deter exploited workers from reporting abuse. Recent data show 6,646 departures in 2024-25 and a growth in overstayers from about 64,000 in 2016 to 77,000 now. The package also includes tighter rules to prevent “visa hopping,” a “No Further Stays” provision and stricter pathways for international students as part of broader migration caps.