A Pasifika overstayer who was detained after a dawn raid in South Auckland last month has been granted a temporary visa and will no longer be deported. The man’s lawyer, Soane Foliaki, said that the police showed up at the man’s home at 5 am, scaring his children and taking him into custody. Though Immigration NZ disputed the timing, it admitted the early morning raid was not a one-off.
This incident has caused outrage among the Pasifika community, particularly given New Zealand’s past history of dawn raids during the 1970s. In response to this outcry, associate Immigration Minister Rachel Brooking reviewed the case and approved the temporary visa on Thursday.
The man is now eligible to apply for residency based on his marriage and family, but he will need to prove that he is in a genuine and stable relationship. Foliaki said that the man would need to prove to the minister that he was in a genuine and stable relationship in order to be granted residence, and “he is well beyond that”.
The man’s lawyer also revealed that the temporary visa had come through “really by political pressure”. Immigration New Zealand has launched a review into what it calls ‘out-of-hours compliance visits’ and paused all such operations until the review has been completed.
The dawn raid caused the man and his family unnecessary harm, and Foliaki said that the man was detained for three days and two nights at Manukau Police Station before being released hours before he was due to be deported. “It’s not a nice place for somebody who’s not a criminal,” he said.
This case highlights the ongoing struggles that many Pasifika overstayers face in New Zealand. While the government has apologized for the infamous dawn raids of the 1970s, there are still many Pasifika people living in New Zealand without proper documentation or legal status.
The decision to grant the man a temporary visa is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to address the root causes of Pasifika overstaying in New Zealand. Until these issues are addressed, there will continue to be unnecessary harm inflicted on Pasifika families and communities.