The fiasco of the botched “dawn raid” on a Filipino family in Auckland, signals the immigration system and Minister Lianne Dalziel was under immense pressure, ACT immigration spokesman Penny Webster said today.

"What the Minister has described as an "operational glitch", has resulted in a "dawn raid" and the taxpayer funding the wrongly deported family's return flight from Malaysia, at a cost of approximately $4000.

"While the Minister states that this incident could be seen as an example to overstayers, it must also be seen as a first example of a rapidly unwinding policy,” Mrs Webster said.

"She shows she is under immense pressure when she accuses her own officials of lying. I call on the Minister to apologise to both the family and the taxpayer for this blunder.

"While ACT supports a strong enforcement of new transitional laws deporting overstayers, it is appalling that a family should be unnecessarily traumatised due to such an administrative oversight,” Mrs Webster said.

She said she wanted the Minister to guarantee there would not be a repeat of the botched dawn raid in Auckland.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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