Albanese government in the dark over US threat to deport Iranian to Australia

Sydney Morning Herald

5 days ago

Washington: The Trump administration has taken the Albanese government by surprise after saying that an Iranian man arrested by US immigration agents as he walked his dog in Maryland could be sent to Australia.
Reza Zavvar came to the US in 1985 on a student visa and was later granted asylum and a green card. But his immigration status was jeopardised when he was aged in his 20s, after two misdemeanours for possession of marijuana. One charge is more than 30 years old, and recreational cannabis is now legal in the state.
Since 2007, Zavvar has been able to remain in the US under a 'withholding of removal order' that said it was not safe for him to return to Iran. However, President Donald Trump came to power promising to conduct the largest mass deportation in US history, which has so far included a limited number of removals of immigration detainees to third countries.
Zavvar, 52, was arrested in late June near his home in Gaithersburg, Maryland – a short drive from Washington. He was later moved to a prison in Ohio. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has told Zavvar it intends to remove him to either Australia or Romania.
The Washington Post published images of the removal notices and Zavvar's lawyer, Ava Benach, confirmed her client received the threats, despite having no ties to either country.
'I strongly suspect that DHS [the Department of Homeland Security] was shooting first and asking questions later,' she told this masthead. 'I think they went out and did a shock and awe effort to get Iranians and round them up, and then they justified it later.'
A spokesperson indicated the Albanese government had no prior knowledge that the Trump administration had threatened to deport someone from the US to Australia, though it would consider any visa application.
'We consider any application for a visa on its merits. We have not been contacted by the US government about this matter,' the government spokesperson said.