Source: Radio New Zealand
Mt Eden prison in Auckland was one of the prisons where asylum seekers were held. (File photo) RNZ/Calvin Samuel
Twenty asylum seekers have been detained in prisons since a government-commissioned report called for the practice to end.
“Detention at Corrections facilities should not occur,” Victoria Casey KC said after revelations of ‘fights clubs’ inside Mt Eden prison where asylum claimants were being held.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) was told in 2022 to come up with bespoke civil arrangements for detention with Corrections if they had security or identity concerns about a claimant.
Figures released to RNZ show asylum seekers were being housed at Spring Hill, Mt Eden, Rimutaka and Christchurch men’s prisons since 2023. One woman had been held at Auckland’s women’s jail for between six and 10 days this year.
Of those held, one man was detained for between six to eight months.
The detention lengths had reduced significantly – between 2015 and 2020, 60 percent of those detained were held for more than three months, and 12 percent for over a year. One person was held for more than three years.
UNHCR guidelines emphasise detention must only be used on an exceptional and individual basis, as a measure of last resort when no alternative exists.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said some delays in releasing asylum seekers in the community were caused by locating suitable accommodation.
Immigration detention centre?
Casey was told there had been intermittent proposals for a short-term detention facility close to Auckland airport, which would be used for immigration detainees facing deportation as well, and she suggested that should be looked at again.
Victoria Casey KC. (File photo) STUFF
INZ previously said “bespoke settings” referred to a tailored legal framework, rather than a physical location, including residence and reporting conditions, release on conditions and electronic monitoring and that New Zealand was too small to justify an immigration detention centre.
“I suggest that INZ engage with Ara Poutama Aotearoa (Corrections), who have wide experience in a range of varying detention arrangements to deal with particular groups (low security prisoners, mothers with babies, Public Safety (Public Protection) Orders and Extended Supervision Orders,” Casey said.
“It seems likely that the civil detention arrangements for public safety or extended supervision orders could provide a useful template for one-off bespoke arrangements for refugee claimants posing a serious threat to public safety or risk to national security, as the objectives and purposes of the detention are similar.”
‘Nothing illegal about claiming asylum’
Auckland University Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies co-director Professor Jay Marlowe said asylum seekers were not criminals.
“There’s nothing illegal about claiming asylum. People have the right to do that. And so there are alternatives to detention. So, that might be that someone’s expected to live at a specific address or facility. Maybe they’re not allowed to travel outside a certain area. Maybe they need to report regularly to some sort of authority, maybe an immigration authority, or there might be certain conditions on work, study, or movement.
Professor Jay Marlowe from the Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies. (File photo) University of Auckland
“The fact that detention occurs within custodial settings continues to raise serious concerns about prison as an appropriate and safe environment for what is fundamentally an administrative process.”
Problems with securing appropriate accommodation should not be used as an excuse for detention, he said.
“Ensuring suitable housing is necessary, but it should not result in people remaining in prison settings by default. If anything, it highlights the need for better resourcing of community-based alternatives, rather than reliance on custodial environments for administrative detention.”
MBIE said no contract had yet been entered into for its electronic monitoring programme.
It had a panel on restriction of freedom of movement of asylum claimants to decide on individual cases, and since 2024 it had made 32 decisions.
“Delays in releasing some individuals from Corrections facilities were primarily due to difficulties in securing suitable accommodation in the community,” it said.
“MBIE’s practice is to ensure that appropriate accommodation is in place before applying to the district court for a release on conditions.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
