"Hugely disappointing and uncomfortable."
That's how Acting Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni today described reports of a case of a Pasifika overstayer who was detained after a dawn raid in South Auckland last week.
Sepuloni said she was not happy with what she had heard and the Government wanted to "get to the bottom of it".
The man's lawyer Soane Foliaki told RNZ police showed up at 5am, scaring his children and taking him into custody — and though Immigration NZ has disputed the timing, it has admitted the early morning raid was not a one-off.
In 2021, the Government gave a formal apology to the Pasifika community for the dawn raids of the 1970s, where a series of rigorous immigration policies resulted in targeted raids on the homes of Pacific families. The raids often came very early in the morning or late at night and were severe, with harsh verbal and physical treatment.
Today Sepuloni — whose father is Samoan — said allegations of its continuation were "hugely disappointing and uncomfortable".
"It's retraumatising a community that was traumatised during a period of time that was a very dark period for the Pacific community, so we don't want to see it."
She said while the Government did not have in-depth knowledge of Immigration New Zealand's (INZ) operations, it needed to understand what it was doing and why.
"We need to put a stop to this."
It's brought back memories of the 1970s dawn raids, prompting the minister to step in. (Source: 1News)
Sepuloni is acting prime minister while Chris Hipkins is overseas ahead of attending King Charles III's coronation in the UK this weekend.
Immigration Minister Michael Wood said he understood it was "very rare" for INZ to operate in that way.
"I was a little surprised when I heard about this particular event, and that's why I've asked for further information from officials about it."
He said immigration officers had a "difficult job".
"Sometimes their job is to say no to people and sometimes their job is to deport people.
"I want to make sure that if and when they do that they do so proportionately and in the broader context with recognition of the particular history in this area."
National Party deputy leader Nicola Willis said the rules needed to be enforced but people — especially those with young children at home — needed to be treated with "dignity".
"I think that's a balance that we can expect immigration officials to strike.
"Using the cover of darkness can be intimidating and unnecessarily so. I accept that sometimes people wont be at home during the day so immigration officers need to find an appropriate time to follow up with them."
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