#ParentsAreImmediateFamily: transnational families during and after the pandemic

Australia was one of many states that closed international borders at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. While many other states have relaxed these restrictions, Australia kept its borders almost completely closed for nearly two years. This has had significant impact on Australians with migrant backgrounds as well as Australians’ family members overseas. A group much affected by family separation has been new mothers whose parents have been unable to come to Australia to support their children and provide care for newborns – this common practice among many migrant groups, such as Indian-Australians, was made impossible by the government’s decision to not allow entry for any temporary visa holders, including grandparents. This paper analyses the decisions and logics of exclusion that caused this separation as well as the #ParentsAreImmediateFamily campaign that agitated against the border closure. This campaign finally paid off when parents were recognised as ‘immediate family’ for the purposes of temporary entry into Australia in late 2021. However, the anguish and stress caused by the closure have left deep marks and the legacy of the exclusionary policy raises important questions about: who gets to count as ‘family’, why and under what conditions; how transnational family lives have changed and continue to be impacted by renewed border anxieties; and the long-term consequences of disrupted patterns of family care. The paper combines analysis of stratification in migration law and policy with sociological research into migration patterns as well as anthropological insights into transnational family practices, belonging and activism. Using this interdisciplinary framework, it argues that the pandemic closure disrupted the usual ways in which immigrants navigate rigid policy expectations regarding the ‘family unit’. This resulted in the intensification of gendered, racialised and class-based effects and revealed the state’s ability to dictate the terms of immigrant inclusion.