The Green Party is calling on Associate Immigration Minister Chris Penk to urgently intervene in the case of an Auckland family facing the prospect of leaving New Zealand just days before Christmas, despite having an 11-year-old child born and raised in the country.
Immigration spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March says the situation highlights the “human cost of immigration” and citizenship settings that ended automatic birthright citizenship, leaving children’s futures tied to their parents’ visa status.
The family — Andi and Theresia Hidayat and their son Hogan — have lived in New Zealand for nearly two decades, working, raising their child and building strong community ties.
Hogan, who was born in New Zealand and attends school locally, has never lived anywhere else and is supported by his community, including football figures backing his sporting potential.
Menéndez March said the case demonstrates “the harsh consequences of an immigration system that has failed to respond with humanity,” adding that the family has faced “impossible and disproportionate evidential demands” despite their long-established life in the country.
A Greens press release provided no background information on the family’s plight.
A formal request for ministerial intervention has now been lodged with Minister Penk, seeking residency for the family and certainty they say has been denied for years, with the Greens arguing no child should be forced to leave the only home they have ever known.
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