Most illegal arrivals granted residency
Linda Moverley is completely wrong when she says (Peninsula News, 24 Jun) that "most illegal arrivals don't come with valid reasons", and unsupported statements of this kind don't contribute to a rational discussion of the subject.
In fact, until recently, about 90 per cent of illegal arrivals were granted residency, after extremely rigorous scrutiny of their reasons.
This number has fallen recently because of the influx of Sri Lankans, many of whom admit candidly that they want to settle in Australia for financial reasons.
Several hundred of these have been immediately deported to Sri Lanka after a cursory (some say too cursory) examination.
Amusingly, she still insists that there are entrants arriving by land, although any explanation of this remarkable feat eludes me.
Email, 26 Jun 2013
Bruce Hyland, Daleys Point