Indian students are seeking sanctuary in an Auckland church as they face deportation over fraudulent visas.
They say they sacrificed everything to come to New Zealand, and have little to return home to in India.
“We gave up everything to come here, there is nothing left,” 23-year-old student Harjeet Singh said.
Most of the students are based in Auckland, but some have been studying in other cities.
The students each paid about $20,000 to arrange for students visas, only to discover after arriving in New Zealand that their supporting visa documents had been forged by agents in India.
Immigration New Zealand notified the students in writing last year that their visa documents were fraudulent and that they they had to leave.
Now, an estimated 150 students are set to be deported from New Zealand.
On Thursday evening, a group of the students gathered at Unite Union’s premises in the central Auckland suburb of Kingsland.
From there, they planned to seek sanctuary in a local Catholic church.
Unite senior organiser Joe Carolan said he hoped the move would embarrass Prime Minister Bill English, who is himself Catholic, into taking pity on the students.
He said immigration officials would have to use force if they wanted to deport the students.
“They’ll have to send in the riot police,” he said.
Several churches had volunteered their support, and it was not yet clear which venue the students will choose as a place of refuge.
Sanctuary is a highly symbolic act with a long history, but it does not have any legal standing in a modern context, Archbishop Philip Richardson, head of the New Zealand Anglican Church, said.
In ancient times persecuted people could seek asylum in a church, out of reach of authorities, he said.
“Now, police have the right to enter anywhere – so while it is an act of protest, it doesn’t work the same way.”
Richardson said he had sought a meeting with Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse to advocate for the students, but his request for a meeting was declined.
“I’m disappointed. There was a case to make for a more compassionate response.”
Immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont has been representing around 20 of the students.
After putting in a request to the Minister six months ago, McClymont said he received an email on Thursday morning stating the ministry would not intervene and the student’s applications were declined.
“For the last few months their case seemed open, like it might be considered. But now it looks like their options have run out.”
McClymont said he was hoping for something different, but his expectations “were not that great.”
Student Mohammed Salman, 24, said he felt terrible knowing how much his family had sacrificed so he could start a new life in New Zealand.
“It’s very difficult for us,” he said.
“How can we show our faces to our parents? How will they feel?”
Immigration New Zealand’s general manager for visa services, Steve Stuart, said the students had “exhausted all options to remain in New Zealand”.
“The students have been invited to make arrangements to depart voluntarily, or arrangements will be made for them to be deported.”
He declined to comment further.
(Source: stuff)