The government’s been urged to update our immigration laws to make so-called “dawn raids” illegal, or at least a last resort.
An independent review led by Mike Heron KC looked at current settings off the back of reports that out of hours immigration checks were still going on. The review made five recommendations including that the Immigration Act should be amended to “specify the criteria for out of hours compliance visits and whether those involving residential addresses be stopped entirely, or limited to specific situations”.
A “pause” on out of hours visits, first implemented in April this year, will continue following the release of the report.
Procedures should also be changed to reflect that out of hours visits are a “matter of last resort” and “reasonable alternatives” should first be considered, the review recommended. “Any assessment of out of hours visits should consider the impact on anyone else who may be present, in particular children, but also the elderly or other vulnerable individuals, as well as New Zealand citizens or residents,” the review said.
“Any decision to undertake an out of hours compliance visit should also include an assessment of reasonableness, proportionality and public interest.”
The head of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Carolyn Tremain, said any legislation change would be a matter for the government – but dawn raids would only take place as a last resort.
“I do want to again acknowledge the impact the Dawn Raids of the 1970s had on the Pacific community and that the trauma from those remains today,” she said. “We accept that we should have reflected the government’s apology in our guidance sooner and are prioritising putting this right.” The government apologised to the Pacific community in 2021. The report found that no policy or law changes had been implemented following the apology.
It’s expected that immigration minister Andrew Little will provide comment on the report’s findings, and give the government’s position on it, this afternoon.