Dawn Raid Tactics Are Still Going On Despite Government Apologies

The government is investigating the case of a Pacifica illegal immigrant who was detained after a morning raid last week in South Auckland.

The man’s lawyer, Soan Foliaki, said the police showed up at 5 a.m., frightened the children and took him into custody. Immigration New Zealand disputes the timing, but admits that the early morning raids were not a one-off event.

Two years ago Government apologizes for infamous 1970s dawn attacksand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he didn’t expect them to happen any more.

“That’s a concern for me. These are not the kind of tactics I would expect them to use in New Zealand.”

Hipkins said he was confident no minister knew what would happen next, and Deputy Immigration Minister Rachel Brooking was investigating the man’s case.

Immigration officials said in a statement that officers rarely showed up early in the morning and that in this case the decision was approved by the country’s manager of compliance.

The company said that of the 623 “customers” it “interacted with” between July and the end of April last year, only 3% (about 18 or 19) were contacted “out of hours.” The “majority” of the was done between 7am and 9pm.

Foliaki was there when then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern delivered his historic apology, saying Pacifica would be disgusted to learn the tactic was still in use.

The family was still asleep, and the children downstairs in the two-story rental house were among the first to hear people banging on the door, he said, hiding a potential “escape route” his father might take. said.

“They were frightened…and crying and very, very upset and scared,” he said. morning report on tuesday.

“And the parents heard it from upstairs – it was very loud – and they looked out the window from upstairs and saw it was the police. I ran to

The father was taken to the Manukau Police Station.

Immigration NZ said RNZ officials showed up at 6am instead of 5am. Early morning visits are paid when immigration officials don’t think the person will be home during the day.

“Look, I don’t believe that at all,” Foliaki said. “My instructions from the client were very clear. It was 5am. I said I would have…

“It’s one thing to be early in the morning and one to come in the dark.”

Foliaki said it would still be “in the dark” at 6 a.m. at this time of year.

“This raid was no different than any other in the ’70s.”

Hipkins was leaving the country today to attend the coronation of King Charles in England. Samoan immigrant daughterSaid morning report She was “deeply concerned” by her lawyer’s allegations.

Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Ceproni.
photograph: RNZ/Samuel Rilstone

“The Dawn Raid was, of course, a very traumatic experience for the Pacifica community, and it doesn’t need to be relived by the Pacifica community. It’s the right question about what’s going on.”

Ceproni argued that the government’s historic 2021 apology did not become empty just because the immigration authorities admitted to making about 18 or 19 overtime visits. bottom.

“But what we need to make sure is that we are not harming communities in the Pacific region with this type of activity. will be closely tracked.”

Foliaki said at the time that he thought Ardern’s apology was “very, very sincere” and “humbling.”

Early raids in the 1970s overwhelmingly targeted Pacifica. they accounted for 86% of all prosecutionsUS and UK citizens accounted for another third of overstayers, but only 5% were prosecuted.

Foliaki said it was not clear whether the modern day dawn raids were racially motivated, but he hopes to obtain figures through the Official Information Act.

“Of the 18 raids, if they were done in the dark, how many of them were Europeans and how many were Pacific? We don’t know…more Europeans, [non-Pasifika] Of course it is racist because there are so many people illegally in this country and nothing is happening to Europeans. ”

He said his client is the “breadwinner” of the family, “having been associated with a New Zealand citizen for several years and taking care of the child.”

“Immigration Minister [said] In the past, if they had a way forward, they would grant temporary visas and let them test their residency eligibility…

“we Convention on the Rights of the Child – We are supposed to protect our families, protect our children, and not hurt them. As you know, excluding the father and dividing the family unit in this way is absolutely unacceptable and contrary to the conventions in which we participate.”