Australia signs deal to send immigrants to Nauru

Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation Nauru enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island. The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes.Home affairs minister Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nauru, the govt said in a statement Friday. "It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in Australia, to be received in Nauru," it said. Canberra did not provide financial details.The Sydney Morning Herald said, however, that Australia would pay Nauru $267 million and about $45.8 million a year thereafter under the deal. "Anyone who doesn't have a valid visa should leave the country," Burke said in a statement.The High Court ruled in 2023 that indefinite detention was "unlawful" if deportation was not an option, leading to the release of 220 people.