Second group of refugees leaves Manus under US resettlement deal

The second group of refugees to be accepted for resettlement in the United States has left Manus Island for New York.

A second group of refugees has left Manus for the United States. Picture: Refugee Action Coalition

The second group of refugees to be accepted for resettlement in the United States has left Manus Island for New York.

The Australian understands a plane left Port Moresby for Manila at 9:20am local time this morning with 40 predominantly single men on board, bound ultimately for New York.

More than 1500 asylum seekers remain on Nauru and Manus Island.

US President Donald Trump agreed to take 1250 in honouring the agreement between the Obama Administration and the Australian government which he last year dubbed a “dumb deal”.

Today’s departure of 40 refugees adds to 54 the US has already taken.

The second group leaving Manus. Picture: Refugee Action Coalition

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said the refugees had mixed feelings about heading to the US.

“It was a bittersweet moment for the refugees, who on the one hand, are happy to be gaining the freedom that Australia denied them more than four years ago; but on the other, they remain extremely concerned for those that are being left behind,” Mr Rintoul said.

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre advocacy manager Natasha Blucher said that while it was pleased for those resettled today, too many remained on Manus and Nauru with their fate still uncertain.

‘The US deal cannot be the only solution here,” she said.

“It is moving too slowly and people’s lives are being destroyed for every moment they are stuck in this crushing system. Everyone must be brought to Australia immediately.

“If the Turnbull government wants to run around the world begging for countries to take this small number of people, then that’s their business. But they must stop destroying lives in the process.”

The men’s departure comes amid news New Zealand’s offer to resettle 150 asylum-seekers from Manus ­Island late last year is believed to have prompted an escalation in people-­smuggling operations, with intelligence officials claiming at least three boats had recently sought to test the shift in policy and use the country as a “back door” to Australia.

Last September, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton hit out at the first group of refugees who left Manus Island bound for the United States, accusing them of being “economic refugees” who own designer clothing.

Mr Dutton said many of the refugees on Manus Island and Nauru had not come from war-ravaged areas. “They’re economic refugees, they got on a boat, paid a people smuggler a lot of money, and somebody once said to me that we’ve got the world’s biggest collection of Armani jeans and handbags up on Nauru waiting for people to collect it when they depart,” Mr Dutton told 2GB. “The reality is that these people have at the generosity of the Australian taxpayer received an enormous amount of support for a long period of time.

“We didn’t ask people to hop on the boats, and we’re getting them out including through this US deal, but we have been taken for a ride.”