Erica Stanford Denies US-Style Immigration Crackdown Claims

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has rejected assertions that proposed legislative amendments would result in a United States-style crackdown on overstayers, describing such claims as “completely wrong.”

Speaking before a select committee on Wednesday, Stanford defended the Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill, characterizing the proposed changes as “simple and technical” measures designed to assist compliance officers in their duties.

The bill seeks to expand the authority of compliance officers by allowing them to question individuals suspected of overstaying their visas without prior evidence of their status. Under current regulations, officers are only permitted to request identifying information, such as a name or date of birth, if the individual is already known to be liable for deportation.

The proposed amendment would shift this threshold, granting officers the power to request identity details if there is “good cause to suspect” a person is overstaying.

Stanford noted that compliance officers have expressed frustration with existing restrictions. She cited scenarios where officers, while searching for a specific individual, encounter other people who attempt to hide or flee the scene.

“They will turn up, they’re looking for this man, they know he’s there, ‘hello, nice to meet you’ – and they can see three other people who are hiding or one guy that just jumped out the window and ran away,” Stanford said. “Right now, they can’t even… Ask for their identity or their date of birth to check who they are.”

The minister emphasized that these powers would be exercised only in “very limited circumstances” and clarified that officers would not possess “stopping power.” She further dismissed suggestions that the legislation mirrors the tactics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, attributing those claims to “misunderstanding and scaremongering.”

The legislation has faced scrutiny from political opponents. Phil Twyford, the immigration spokesperson for the Labour Party, questioned the minister regarding a specific provision in the bill that would restrict the right of certain overstayers to appeal their deportation.