The U.S. has agreed to resettle refugees held by Australia in two offshore detention centers, although the number of people to be offered resettlement was not revealed.

Under Australia's strict border protection laws, any person who attempts to reach the country by boat is sent to the centers on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island and the small South Pacific island nation of Nauru, while their claims for asylum are processed.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull revealed the U.S. deal on Sunday, saying, "This opportunity will be only available to those accepted by the United States on Nauru and Manus now."

"It will not be available to anyone who seeks to come to Australia by people smuggler in the future," Turnbull added.

The U.S. would decide which refugees it took, and would cover the cost of resettlement, according to reports, while no time-frame was given for the resettlements.

It was unclear on Sunday how the deal with the U.S. may be impacted by the policies of President-elect Donald Trump , who took a strict stance on immigration issues during his campaign, including proposing to i mplement a complete ban on Muslim immigration .

According to reports, Australian PM Turnbull was questioned about the potential impact of Trump's election win, but refused to be drawn on the issue, saying that the deal had been done with the current U.S. administration. Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20

The Australian Prime Minister did not give details on the number of people to be offered resettlement in the U.S., but state broadcaster ABC reported that it would be offered only to those who had been found to have genuine asylum claims.

Turnbull said priority would be given to the "most vulnerable" groups, such as families, the ABC reported.

Those that did not accept an offer of U.S. resettlement would be offered a 20-year visa to stay on Nauru but no financial support, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said on Sunday.

The options for people who had not been found to have genuine asylum claims were unchanged: remain in the centers or return to their country of origin, according to reports.

There are about 1,200 people were currently living in the detention centers.

At present, people who reach Australia by boat and are found to be eligible for asylum are offered the opportunity to be resettled in Papua New Guinea or Nauru, but not Australia.

Until late 2013, asylum seekers and migrants frequently attempted to reach Australia from Indonesia, usually by paying people smugglers for passage on boats that were often unseaworthy.