Editorial: Immigration staff blundered, again

Discretion is probably the most difficult quality to instil in any bureaucracy, especially in the Immigration Service. When its officers locate someone they believe to be here illegally, they know the person may be much harder to find a second time. Even so, the seizure of a child from her adoptive parents' home in Hamilton appears inexcusable.

The 10-year-old girl had come into the country with her cousin, aged 21, who had been caring for her in Samoa after the girl's parents migrated to New Zealand. Though her parents have New Zealand citizenship, the girl and her cousin were both given temporary permits which have expired. The immigration officers found the girl living with her legal parents, though it appears the officers did not believe that, even when shown an adoption record issued by a Samoan court.

The girl and her cousin were taken into custody on Friday morning, held in police cells and would have been on a plane to Samoa that night but for an injunction obtained from the High Court little more than an hour before their scheduled departure. The Immigration Service has since cancelled the removal orders, explaining that it had not previously had all the information about "a complicated family situation."

Complicated family situations ought to be familiar to immigration officials in this part of the world. It is not unusual for children to live for long periods with family members who are not their parents. The child in this case, Cristine Tilo, had previously been in the care of her grandmother and aunt, both now New Zealand citizens.

Our immigration rules probably pay little heed to extended family ties but in this case the law should be straightforward. A child of New Zealand citizens should have the right to be here. If the law as it stands fails to confer an automatic right to live here, as immigration lawyers suggest, then it should be changed.

When officials pursue a child to this extent it suggests something remains seriously amiss in the culture of the Immigration Service. The removal order was served on a 21-year-old and the 10-year-old was assumed to be her "dependant." Surely common sense would see questions asked about such a relationship. The ages alone were sufficient to suggest that all was not right with the order. Yet the service blundered on.

The Minister of Immigration has acted predictably and called for a report. She now needs to ensure there is a swift and compassionate resolution to the case. There should be no doubt that Christine's place is with her family in New Zealand and her cousin is similarly placed.

Even more worrying than the case itself are the ingrained attitudes suggested by the service's behaviour. This country is not so threatened by uncontrolled immigration that officials must err on the side of heavy-handedness. Quite the reverse. The latest census has shown yet again that the population is barely growing. This is a country that in most years struggles to attract its desired quota of immigrants.

That is no reason to throw open the doors and do away with an immigration police. There will always be a need to track down and evict undesirables who get into the country by one means of another. And care must be taken to see that immigration does not put intolerable strain on the country's schools, health services and social welfare. But that threat can easily be exaggerated and the precautions excessive.

Ultimately, people enrich a society even if they at first present a cost to its education and welfare services. The most prosperous society on Earth, the United States, was built in part on waves of poor immigrants. Goods and services are flowing ever more freely across national borders and so are people. The "brain drain," says the Treasury is really a brain exchange. Countries need to constant replenish their human capital with education and immigration because nothing in the modern world is static. People are not captive.

Countries in which the culture is receptive and the authorities are reasonable will probably be better off.