An independent review of the use of dawn raid tactics by Immigration NZ has recommended the Government consider changing legislation to specify criteria for "out of hours compliance visits" or potentially stop them entirely.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has committed to changing its procedures. A pause on the out of hours visits, implemented in May following revelations the tactics were still being used, will continue until the guidance is updated.
It emerged in May that the out of hours visits were still occurring despite the Government apologising in 2021 for the use of dawn raid tactics in the 1970s that largely impacted the Pacific community.
"In our view, the Government's apology created a reasonable expectation within the Pasifika community that 'dawn' intrusions into houses would cease (or at least would be a very last resort)," the review said.
"Whilst out of hours visits appear to have been a matter of last resort and require managerial and national manager approval, there does not appear to have been an attempt to implement the principles of the Government's apology or alter out of hours visits in light of it."
It said that an apology for behaviour, aspects of which continue after the apology, "does appear to ring hollow".
"Whilst the apology did not make any mention of ongoing immigration activity, we think it is reasonable for the Pasifika community to expect that early morning intrusions into households would cease (or at least be exceptional)."
The review, released publicly on Monday, also found that "very few Pacific people" have recently been subject to the tactics, with the majority affected being either Chinese or Indian nationals.
The review said that the Minister of Immigration, MBIE and INZ management didn't undertake any work to align out of hour compliance activity with the Government apology.
"The context at the time and following was understandably a distraction from doing so (the pandemic meant there was limited deportation activity) and much of the feedback that INZ received following the apology related to an amnesty," the review said.
However, the continuation of the visits had "caused distress to many people and indeed entire communities", it said. For some, this "completely undermined the impact and meaning of the apology".
The review included five recommendations:
- The Government consider amending the Act to specify criteria for out of hours compliance visits by INZ compliance officers and consider whether those involving residential addresses be stopped entirely, or made subject to judicial search warrant, or otherwise limited to specific situations, such as those involving public safety or matters of national security.
- Standard Operating Procedures should also be updated to reinforce that out of hours compliance visits are a matter of last resort and reasonable alternatives have been considered beforehand. Standard Operating Procedures should also be updated to reflect policy about when and how these kinds of visits should occur. Given the lack of legislative time available, this could be given priority.
- 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 way in which the operation is carried out should take into account relevant cultural factors.
- Any decision to undertake an out of hours compliance visit should also include an assessment of reasonableness, proportionality and public interest.
- Any out of hours compliance activity should be authorised by the relevant compliance manager and the national manager before it can occur (the status quo prior to this Review). We acknowledge there are arguments for elevating authorisation further.
In a statement following the release of the report, MBIE chief executive Carolyn Tremain said a decision to review or change legislation was a matter for the Government, but MBIE was working on updating its procedures and guidance to reflect the Government's apology.
"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 know we have more to do as we learn from the past to shape the future.
"We accept that we should have reflected the Government's apology in our guidance sooner and are prioritising putting this right. The new guidance will specify when and how out of hours visits to residential addresses should take place and make it clearer that they should only be carried out as a last resort when all other alternatives have been considered.
"We are working on this as a matter of priority but we will continue our pause on out of hours compliance visits to residential addresses until the guidance is updated. This means visits will only take place between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday."
Tremain said that out-of-hour visits are rare and only make up about 3 percent of compliance visits.
"But we recognise the impact they can cause and acknowledge we have work to do to ensure they are only carried out as a matter of last resort under strict guidelines when all other options have been exhausted."
An Auckland community lawyer in May said that a Pasifika overstayer was detained after a dawn raid in Auckland.
Carmel Sepuloni, who was the acting Prime Minister at the time, said the Government didn't want INZ "acting in a way where they are re-traumatising our Pacific community".
Then-Immigration Minister Michael Wood said out-of-hours dawn raids should be signed off by the head of Immigration.
