While Alberto Gonzales testifies, I caught this story. It seems that, for some reason, the United States and Australia are exchanging refugees. Unsurprisingly there appears to be some kind of law broken, but even ignoring that (and quoting AmericaBlog), who thought this was a good idea?

The mainly Asian refugees intercepted heading for Australia would be considered for resettlement in the United States, while Cuban and Haitian asylum-seekers hoping to live there could be despatched to Australia.

The US State Department said the exchange would involve a maximum of 200 people a year.

…huh? Okay, so, people seeking asylum in the United States go to Australia and vice versa. Now, I’m no immigration expert, and certainly not an asylum/refugee expert, but it seems to me that someone seeking asylum isn’t immigrating specifically to that country, but rather they’re trying to get out of another one. So all that happens is they go to a different country. What the hell is that accomplishing?

The deal was apparently designed to deter refugees by frustrating their desire to join relatives and emigre communites and transporting them “halfway around the world,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

I reiterate: …huh? This is the most nonsensical idea I’ve ever heard of. So, just to piss them off, we’re going to throw them to another continent. And thereby separate families permanently. After all, if they’re trying to sneak over a border, they aren’t exactly well off, so now they’ve got an ocean between them. Fantastic.

Sometimes I can’t even get mad at news items because I just don’t understand them.