Immigration officers to get beefed-up search powers

Source: NZ herald

By: Lincoln Tan

Immigration officers are to be given greater powers of search and investigation without reliance on police under new laws coming in next month.

Officers will be able to investigate and act against offenders without the need to rely on Customs or police under the Immigration Act.

They will be able to enter and search places and crafts, inspecting records of educational providers, accommodation providers, employers and even buildings and premises of people liable for deportation.

The new act comes into effect on November 29 and, subject to Cabinet approval, officers working for Immigration New Zealand will be given new powers.

“The amendments will allow immigration officers to carry out routine immigration-related investigations and functions without relying on resources from our partner agencies,” said Nigel Bickle, head of Immigration.

Under the current law, these powers are exercised by police or Customs on behalf of the department.

“The powers are carefully prescribed to be used in specific circumstances,” Mr Bickle said.

The new powers restrict officers to enter and search in immigration-controlled areas such as airports, not private homes, and where they enter premises where a person who is liable for deportation is believed to be, it will be only for the specific functions related to deportation, he said.

In the 12 months to September 30, the agency deported 687 overstayers – costing taxpayers nearly $1.7 million – with people from Samoa, Fiji and Tonga making up nearly half of those repatriated.

A new detention and monitoring system will be introduced under the act, allowing Immigration officials to choose from a range of options, including putting people into secure detention or releasing offenders with reporting conditions.

“The act establishes a flexible approach to monitoring and detaining foreign nationals who are considered to be a threat to the integrity of the immigration system or the security and safety of New Zealand,” Mr Bickle said.

“The new system brings us into the era of the modern regulatory framework, which allows us to choose between a range of options based on risk, rather than a one-size-fits-all.”

People who are liable for arrest and detention may be monitored in the community or detained in custody. Determining factors include the possibility of a person absconding, criminality, risk to public safety and identity concerns.

The new powers will only be brought into force when Cabinet is satisfied that the appropriate training and operating instructions have been developed, and that there are safeguards in place.

Said Mr Bickle: “No date has been determined yet.”

Under the new act, people facing deportation may be detained in police custody without warrant for up to 96 hours, compared with up to 24 or 72 hours depending on circumstances under the current act.

Warrants of commitment may also be granted by the District Court to hold a person liable to arrest or detention in custody for up to 28 days, and a person may also be held under warrant for a continuous period for up to six months following the completion of relevant immigration processes.

“Specially-designated Immigration officers will be able to detain people for a maximum of four hours. This new power will be brought into effect by order in council,” Mr Bickle said.
HANDLING IMMIGRATION OFFENDERS
(Awaiting Cabinet approval)
* Immigration offenders face secure detention or reporting conditions.

* Immigration officers can enter and search crafts, schools and buildings.

* New act will allow Immigration officers to act independently from police and Customs.

DEPORTED
Total deported in the last 12 months: 687 people costing $1.68 million

* Samoa: 157 people deported at a cost of $385,000
* Fiji: 71 people deported at a cost of $174,000
* China: 70 people deported at a cost of $172,000
* Tonga: 61 people deported at a cost of $150,000
* Malaysia: 51 people deported at a cost of $125,000
* India: 32 people deported at a cost of $78,400
* Great Britain: 28 people deported at a cost of $68,600
* Indonesia: 23 people deported at a cost of $56,350
* South Africa: 18 people deported at a cost of $44,100
* Chile: 15 people deported at a cost of $36,750

Immigrant fingerprints checks introduced between Oz and New Zealand as part of fraud drive that will be extended to other countries

Media Release

Source: www.dol.govt.nz  (Department of Labour)

16 August 2010

 Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has begun fingerprint checks with Australia as part of a biometric programme to strengthen border security and prevent identity fraud.

The programme will expand to include checks with the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States under the umbrella of the Five Country Conference (FCC), which has developed a system for securely – and with substantial privacy safeguards – matching fingerprint biometrics of persons of interest. Fingerprints of FCC citizens will not be shared.

The system will help INZ combat fraud and strengthen border security by helping identify, early in the immigration process, people with criminal histories or those using false identities.

“Organised crime groups and illegal migrants are increasingly using identity and passport fraud to evade detection,” says Arron Baker, INZ’s Programme Manager for Identity and Biometrics.

“Biometrics uses technology to improve on traditional checks using names to detect and prevent these people from entering New Zealand. It is a fast, effective and privacy protecting way of quickly facilitating genuine clients while filtering out those who pose risks to New Zealand.”

INZ signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship on 30 June 2010, and is now completing similar agreements with the UK, Canada and the US.

The Department of Labour completed a Privacy Impact Assessment of the system in close consultation with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. This is available to the public at http://www.immigration.govt.nz.

 ENDS

 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Q1. What is the Five Country Conference?

The Five Country Conference (‘FCC’) is a forum for immigration and border security – involving Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom (U.K), the United States (U.S) and New Zealand.

Q2. What is biometric identification?

A. Biometric identification is the confirmation of people’s identity by comparing unique physical features such as fingerprints, photograph, iris scan, etc. with a previously obtained image. 

Q3. How do you know the exchange with foreign countries will be secure?

A. The Five Country Conference has developed a system which ensures the information exchange is very secure. The system has been subject to rigorous security accreditation by each country. Also, information shared may only be supplied in accordance with the member’s immigration and privacy laws, as well as international arrangements signed by the parties.

Q4. Will you be sharing any biometrics of Five Country Conference national citizens?

A. No. Fingerprints of citizens of the FCC will not be shared as part of these identity checks.  The only time FCC citizens information may be relevant is if someone conceals their true identify as an FCC citizen when dealing with an FCC immigration agency.

Q5. FCC data sharing will involve the exchange of both biometric and biographic data. What kind of biographic data will be shared?

A. There is no biographic information (names, birthdates etc) shared when an identity is checked. Only the fingerprint data is provided to make a check. Privacy experts regard this approach as an innovative way to protect people’s identity. Only when a fingerprint match is made will biographic data be exchanged to confirm if identity fraud has occurred. 

Q6. How do you know there will not be security breaches to the data sharing system?

A. Security of data and privacy are of paramount importance to all countries in the FCC. All data exchanged is very strongly encrypted. Thorough security assessments of the system have been completed by a number of government security experts and agencies. 

Q7. Under these information sharing arrangements, will the FCC countries be able to remove or deport individuals who have committed an immigration or criminal offence?

A. Yes. Information that is shared under the exchange programme can support prosecution and/or deportation of individuals.  It will also be used to prevent the entry of known persons of concern — including those who have committed an immigration or criminal offence.