CANBERRA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- A deal brokered between Australia and the outgoing Obama administration for the United States take on refugees from Australia's offshore detention centers is at risk of falling through, Texas Congressman Brian Babin said on Monday.
President Barack Obama agreed to take refugees from the detention centers as part of his nation's annual refugee intake, but Babin told Australia's Fairfax Media that the incoming Trump administration would likely backflip on the deal.
Babin said the "secret" agreement was made without any consultation with members of Congress, and said it was likely that Trump would "do everything in his power" to stop the deal in its tracks.
"I am confident President-elect Trump will do everything in his power to put an immediate stop to this secret Australian-U.S. refugee deal that should have simply never happened in the first place," Babin told Fairfax Media.
"It was made behind doors without any input from Congress. In fact, when Congress asked for details on the agreement and the refugees, the Obama administration refused to share the information."
Babin, who is a representative of Texas' 36th Congressional District and an opponent of Obama's refugee policies, said secret deals such as the one signed by Australian prime minister and Obama were the reason Americans elected Trump at the November election.
"This secret deal to import dangerous refugees into the U.S. is exactly what the American people soundly rejected in November with the election of Donald Trump," he said.
According to Fairfax Media, a spokesperson for the prime minister said the government was confident that the deal would be fulfilled in good faith.
