Immigration officers will soon have the power to ask suspected overstayers for identification in homes and workplaces.The government said it was closing a compliance gap in the deportation system, while critics argued it was a step towards the immigration conditions that had allowed the Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] raids seen in the United States.  In September last year, the New Zealand government announced a suite of immigration settings changes aimed at strengthening deportation levers. Among them was giving immigration officers the power to ask for identity-based information from individuals they suspected were in breach of their visa conditions.The Green Party's immigration spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March said these ICE raids did not happen overnight. "They were enabled by American politicians slowly allowing their immigration officials to have more powers to search, to detain and to target migrant communities.

<p>Immigration officers will soon have the power to ask suspected overstayers for identification in homes and workplaces.The government said it was closing a compliance gap in the deportation system, while critics argued it was a step towards the immigration conditions that had allowed the Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE]&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/586882/courts-have-ruled-4-400-times-that-ice-jailed-people-illegally-it-hasn-t-stopped">raids seen in the United States</a>.&nbsp; In September last year, the New Zealand government announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/572046/deporting-criminals-set-to-get-easier-under-law-change">suite of immigration settings changes</a> aimed at strengthening deportation levers.&nbsp;Among them was giving immigration officers the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/570519/children-s-commissioner-says-immigration-bill-fails-to-reflect-lessons-of-dawn-raid-era">power to ask for identity-based information</a> from individuals they suspected were in breach of their visa conditions.The Green Party's immigration spokesperson Ricardo Men&eacute;ndez March said these ICE raids did not happen overnight.&nbsp;"They were enabled by American politicians slowly allowing their immigration officials to have more powers to search, to detain and to target migrant communities.</p>

<p>Yours Politically - Sanjesh Narain</p>