McKim facing deportation from Manus Island

Senator McKim has visited the island in Papua New Guinea a number of times, with the purpose of finding out more about conditions in Australia's offshore detention facilities.

He was with Iranian journalist and Manus detainee Behrouz Boochani at Lorengau when he was denied entry to the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre this morning and his passport was confiscated.

Senator McKim said he had approached an Immigration Department official at the camp asking if he could speak to some of the detainees inside.

"[He] asked to see my passport," he said. "So I gave him my passport and he said, 'You're not coming in'."

"I said, 'Please give me my passport back ... and he said, 'No, I'm not giving [it back]'."

Senator McKim said he then "had a bit of a sit-in by the side of the road".

"About 20 minutes later, [the official] came out and said, 'You can have your passport back'," he said.

After 10 more minutes, Senator McKim said a Toyota Landcruiser approached him as he was walking down the road.

In the vehicle was another immigration official and four "heavily armed" police officers.

"[They] demanded that I get in the car and I asked them, 'Are you arresting me?'," Senator McKim said.

"And ... a police officer said, 'No, we're not arresting you [but] you have to get in the car. And I said, 'I'm not getting in the car. If you're not arresting me, I'm not getting in the car'."

Senator McKim said the second official told him he would visit him at his hotel later today to issue him a deportation notice. As of 4.30pm on Thursday, he was yet to be served the notice.

The Australian High Commissioner in Papua New Guinea has contacted the senator to "check in" with him, for which Senator McKim said he was "very appreciative".

Senator McKim also took to Twitter to discuss the events.

"I was granted a 12-month multiple entry visa by the PNG government and am here legally," he wrote. "Every Kina spent here on refugees has been authorised by the Australian Parliament, and there should be accountability on how it is spent."

"That accountability and truth-telling is my job.

"I have always treated police, immigration and all PNG people with respect, and obeyed their laws. Offshore detention is not of their making, and has been very difficult for many of them."

Mr Boochani wrote on Twitter that this was not the first time people had been stopped from visiting Manus or had been deported.

"Two weeks ago my translator Omid Tofighian was deported from Port Moresby," he wrote. "Before the election an Australian comedian ... was deported too and many over past six years."