There are 18,750 asylum seekers that need to be supported, however the deal Australia reached with the outgoing Obama administration, and announced earlier this month, will provide an early test of Trump's anti-immigration stance. It will begin after President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January.
Turnball has yet to say whether he has discussed the agreement with president-elect, Donald Trump.
Any refugee who refuses to go to the US would be given a 20-year visa to stay on Nauru, according to Australian Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton.
"This opportunity will be only available to those accepted by the United States on Nauru and Manus now," Malcolm Turnbull said, announcing the deal on November 13, as reported by CNBC.
"It will not be available to anyone who seeks to come to Australia by people smuggler in the future."
There are still questions over whether Trump will honor the agreement. In an interview on US television, Trump said that he plans to deport up to three million undocumented immigrants as soon as he is in office.
Both the US and Australian governments have faced harsh criticism over their anti-immigration stance.
Details emerged of the terrible conditions that refugees faced at the detention center in Nauru. One refugee was allegedly dragged from his bed in the early hours of the morning and flown by the Australian Air Force to the offshore detention center on Nauru, where he could be held indefinitely. Human rights lawyer, and CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Center, Kon Karapanagiotidis, said that the conditions these refugees face are "immoral."
"It's disturbing what those countries who claim to profess the commitment to human rights and law are doing. You can't do these things to people, it's immoral and its deprived," Mr. Karapanagiotidis told Sputnik.
Detainees on Nauru/Manus with questions on deal are given a slip of paper, directing to US state dept general info on refugee admissions pic.twitter.com/kQBk0W8Oz5
— Helen Davidson (@heldavidson) 14 November 2016
Even the details given to detainees, regarding the resettlement program on Nauru and Manus, were limited. The refugees were given a slip of paper, directing them to the US State Department.
The US has been more refugee-friendly, with over 1.3 million young immigrants signed up for President Barack Obama's deportation relief program.
However they may still be at risk of being forced out, should President-elect Donald Trump keep his promise to get rid of the existing policy.
Donald Trump's anti-immigration and Muslim rhetoric was heard loud and clear in the run up to the presidential election.
Trump will most certainly want to stem the flow of refugees into the US, therefore how likely is he to stick to the agreement with Australia and take in asylum seekers? Only time will tell.
