Woman Returns After Being Wrongly Deported

A woman whose wrongful deportation to the Philippines sparked outrage and an investigation of immigration officials arrived back in Australia.

Vivian Alvarez, who has held dual Australian-Philippine citizenship since 1986, was seriously injured in an accident, then mistakenly identified as an illegal immigrant, possibly a sex slave, and deported in July 2001, according to a report presented to Australia’s Parliament last month.

Alvarez, 43, was discovered in May this year living in a Roman Catholic hospice run by nuns in the city of Olongapo after an Australian priest recognized her on satellite TV.