A Vietnamese asylum seeker and her two-year-old daughter have been released from a Melbourne immigration detention centre.
Huyen Thu Thi Tran was reunited with her husband Paul Lee, Isabella’s father, on Wednesday, which is his 34th birthday.
Isabella has lived at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation centre (MITA) in Broadmeadows since her birth in March 2018.
Her father lives only 15 minutes away but has not seen his wife or daughter since March when the COVID-19 pandemic stopped visits.
Ms Tran said she was called unexpectedly by staff at the centre to say she was expected to be granted a bridging visa the same day.
Isabella hadn't seen her father since March. Source: Supplied
“We are so happy to see my husband and for us to all be together as a family,” she told SBS News as Mr Lee drove them away from the detention centre.
“We all cried, guards and everyone in the centre.”
The family’s lawyer Alison Battisson had not initially been made aware of the development.
“When we got the news, although we are lawyers, there were many tears and hugs. We are invested in the lives of this family and many others,” she told SBS News.
“There is an entire team of advocates, lawyers and doctors behind the liberty of Huyen and Isabella. We have worked for over two years for this family, on a pro bono basis, for the simple reason that they deserved better. Isabella deserved the chance to have a normal childhood.”
Ms Tran, 31, is Catholic and says she fled religious persecution in rural Vietnam in 2011.
She landed on Christmas Island by boat and was detained for more than a year before being moved to community detention. Isabella was not technically detained but her mother was placed in MITA in November 2017 when she was four months pregnant.
Mr Lee, who is from Mauritius and is on a 457 visa, hoped he’d be able to sponsor Ms Tran’s visa after they got married in 2017 but learned it was not possible because she arrived in Australia by boat. He is in the process of applying for permanent residency.
Ms Battisson said the good news was also tinged with sadness as “Isabella's playmates” Kopika and Thruincaa - the children of - remain on Christmas Island with their parents.
Isabella with the Biloela sisters when they were previously in the same detention centre. Source: Supplied
“We must remember the Biloela family and the many others who are separated from their family and children,” she said.
She added that the granting of a bridging visa to Ms Tran means "Huyen and Isabella can legally stay in Australia for the term of their visas”.
“We will continue to advocate for this family, to ensure their right to stay together as a family is protected."
The Department of Home Affairs has been contacted for comment.
Rebekah Holt is a freelance journalist based in Melbourne
