Some communities in Australia and abroad are in distress after a press release issued by Pauline Hanson's One Nation circulated online.
The release, , outlined the party's proposed immigration policy which would see "75,000 illegal immigrants" deported.
Party leader Senator Pauline Hanson was quoted saying 75,000 people who are residing in Australia "unlawfully", including those who have overstayed their visas, are working illegally or have committed crimes, would be deported with no opportunity to appeal to the Australian Review Tribunal.
"One Nation, united, strong, and prosperous, celebrates its 11th year." Credit: One Nation Website
In one active Ni-Vanuatu Facebook group, a user posted to warn others their families they could be at risk of deportation.
"Send messages to them to come back before the operation takes place," they urged.
"Feeling sorry for our family members from Vanuatu," another shared.
Several posts connected the policy announcement with President Trump's in the United States.
"Trump gave the order to Australia ... to also deport people who live in Australia illegally," read one post sighted by SBS Bislama.
Other users commented in support of the policy.
SBS Tetum spoke with two migrant workers from Timor-Leste, Leo and Maria*, who also saw the announcement on social media.
"We were worried because, for us, coming to Australia is an opportunity to provide for our families back home. So far, we have followed the rules and are in the system, but hearing this news was very concerning," they said.
Carla Chung, from ACRATH's (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans) migrant worker support, said she received several messages when the document began circulating online.
"I saw that the workers were quite stressed and depressed when they saw Pauline Hanson's media statement," she said.
"I told them that this was just an idea from a minority party ... I told them not to worry, and to just focus on their work."
Leo and Maria, who feared they may face deportation as a result of the policy, told SBS Tetum they were reassured when other posts on Facebook explained the document.
"The good thing about social media is that we discovered this information was not official from the government," they said.
A One Nation spokesperson told SBS Examines the party is "not aware of any allegations that the release is misleading, nor is One Nation aware of any 'migrant community' which claims the release caused 'distress'."
While the press release has caused distress for some, it's "on brand" for One Nation, according to global migration expert Associate Professor Anna Boucher.
"This has been kind of a One Nation policy platform since its inception, really, to deal with migration."
She believes the press release speaks largely to "their fan base".
A/Prof Boucher is a Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Political Science at the University of Sydney, and a member of the federal government's Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration.
She told SBS Examines the policies outlined in the press release aren't likely to be "effective or implementable".
She also noted that mass deportation wasn't simple, and One Nation would not have the authority to "remove appeal rights to the Administrative Review Tribunal".
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'Plays into fears'
The press release also claimed that record immigration under the current government is responsible for worsening the housing crisis, increasing inflation and overwhelming public services and infrastructure.
When asked to supply the data sets or information supporting the link between migration, housing and inflation, the party spokesperson provided links to an and a .
"These are by no means the only sources of information showing the obvious, undisputed fact that more people in Australia means more people using available services, infrastructure and housing," they said.
However, Emeritus Professor of Demography in the Crawford School of Public Policy of the Australian National University Peter McDonald told SBS Examines
"When commentators and politicians attribute all problems of the housing market to high immigration, by definition, they're diverting attention away from the wide range of policy approaches that are required to deal with the housing crisis," he said.
He said migrants have little impact on both the home purchase and rental markets, and limiting immigration won't fix the problem.
Associate Professor of Urban Planning from University of Queensland Dr Dorina Pojani says the sole issue is a lack of houses.
"We simply don't have enough houses for the population we have, and that is not simply attributed to immigration. We aren't creating enough housing," she said.
"Around the year 2000, we stopped producing new housing in line with demand and prices have been going up ever since."
A/Prof Boucher said the decision of One Nation to highlight the perceived nexus between housing and immigration, "whether it's true or not, plays into the fears in the electorate".
"That's why they're focusing on it."
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The impact on migration support
Pauline Hanson's One Nation is a minor party, and doesn't have enough members to form a government or implement policies on their own.
But A/Professor Boucher said she had concerns about the impact of "this kind of rhetoric" and "scaremongering" on social cohesion.
"It could push the conversation around migration to a more unwelcoming and radical position generally in Australia. It might inspire one of the major parties to adopt some, although probably not all, of these ideas," she said.
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* Names have been changed