A daughter’s plea to halt her father’s deportation to Nauru

When Australia’s high court ruled indefinite immigration detention unlawful in 2023, Sara’s* father returned home to Australia’s east coast after years in onshore immigration detention. He is just one of the more than 350 people who make up what’s known as the NZYQ cohort, which includes individuals who have had their visas cancelled on character grounds but cannot be deported to their country of origin. Last year the Australian government signed a secretive deal to deport members of the group to Nauru on 30-year visas, and Sara fears her father could be next. She speaks to Nour Haydar *Not her real name • Sara fears her father will be deported from Australia to Nauru – a place of ‘final and lifelong punishment’