The High Court has found Aboriginal people are exempt from immigration laws, after considering the cases of two men facing deportation for criminal convictions.
Two Indigenous men, Daniel Love and Brendan Thoms, have faced deportation since failing their migration character tests as a result of serving jail sentences.
Today the High Court found Aboriginal Australians were not subject to the alien powers in the constitution and could therefore not be deported under immigration law.
But the court stopped short of clearing Mr Love entirely, saying they could not reach agreement on whether he was an Aboriginal person on the facts stated in the case.
Both men were born overseas but moved to Australia as children and held permanent residency visas.
Though he is a native title holder as a member of the Gunggari people, Mr Thoms was born in New Zealand and does not have Australian citizenship.
After being sentenced to more than a year in jail he was taken into immigration detention, where he remains.
Mr Love, a recognised member of the Kamilaroi born in Papua New Guinea, was also placed in immigration detention after being sentenced to more than a year in jail for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
But the decision to cancel his residency visa was revoked and he was released.
-ABC
– More to come.
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