Early morning immigration officers in New Zealand detained a Tongan man for overstaying his visa, while allowing his wife to remain with their children, according to a live social media broadcast by the mother.
The incident, which occurred this morning, has sparked renewed discussions about the humanitarian considerations in NZ’s immigration enforcement practice
In an emotional Facebook livestreamed video, the mother described being awakened by a knock early this morning, before officers took her husband into custody shortly after he opened the door.
The emotional mother called this God’s will for their return to Tonga after 15 years as overstayers.
It appeared the operation was part of New Zealand Immigration’s routine compliance measures.
Through tears, the mother explained they’d followed proper channels – hiring a lawyer and obtaining an official case number. “We showed the officers the number,” she said, “but they took him anyway.”
The livestreamed video was shared over 500 times and garnered thousands of reactions, with commenters overwhelmingly expressing sympathy for the family’s plight.
“Heartbreaking to see our people treated like criminals! 15 years building a life only to be torn apart,” a commenter wrote.
“NZ should show more compassion to our Pasifika families,” another wrote in Tongan.
“How can they separate fathers from children? This system is broken. That family contributed to NZ for years – where’s the grace?”
“I sympathize but… 15 years illegal? Come on. Why never try fix visa?
“Now kids suffer because of parents’ mistakes. Hard lesson.”
“Many of us migrated the right way – working hard for papers. This makes it harder for all Tongans trying to do things properly.”
Vehikite Deportation and Campaign
This follows our recent report about a Tongan family’s campaign to return their relative to New Zealand after his deportation to Tonga last month.
The removal occurred after the Rotorua District Court granted Immigration New Zealand (INZ) a warrant of commitment for Paea Vehikite, leading to his detention and eventual deportation.
As previously reported by Kaniva News, Paea arrived in New Zealand in May 2009 but failed to secure a valid visa, allegedly after falling victim to an immigration scam. His wife holds a New Zealand resident permit.
New Zealand’s Labour government under Jacinda Ardern issued a historic formal apology in 2021 for the racist policing of Pacific communities during the 1970s Dawn Raids era. Many Tongan overstayers viewed this as a first step toward more compassionate treatment of future visa violators.
However, the current National-led government under Prime Minister Christopher Luxon appears to be reversing this approach, continuing dawn raid-style operations against overstayers
