Twenty thousand overstayers: Labour and the Greens won’t admit it’s a problem

Responding to Phil Twyford’s refusal on 1News to support an overstayer enforcement unit, ACT Leader David Seymour says:

“Phil Twyford says we don’t need a dedicated overstayer enforcement unit because Immigration New Zealand already has a compliance and investigation team.

“The problem is we still have 20,980 known overstayers in New Zealand. Maybe Labour thinks this is okay, but ACT thinks twenty thousand overstayers is evidence the current system isn’t working.

“The current setup is generalist, covering everything from employer breaches and migrant exploitation, to fraud, trafficking, and visa breaches. Those are all important jobs, but when everyone is responsible for everything, nobody is properly accountable for one thing.

“A dedicated unit would focus on enforcing the law fairly and practically. For example, it would work with platform employers like Uber and DoorDash to verify that people doing paid work in New Zealand actually have the legal right to work here.”

Responding to Ricardo Menendez-March, Seymour says:

“The Greens have breathlessly claimed ACT wants to bring ICE to New Zealand. This says more about their obsession with American politics than it says about ACT’s immigration policy.

“This is New Zealand. We can enforce New Zealand law, in a New Zealand way, without importing every argument from cable news in the United States.

“Elected Parliaments have made the rules, and now it’s time to enforce them. If Labour and the Greens don’t like the rules, they should be honest and campaign to change them.”