Dawn raids (New Zealand)

The Dawn Raids were a crackdown in New Zealand from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s on illegal overstayers from the Pacific Islands. 

The raids were first announced in 1973 by Prime Minister Norman Kirk and were continued by his replacement Rob Muldoon.

These raids involved special police squads causing raids on the homes and workplaces of overstayers throughout New Zealand usually at dawn. Overstayers and their families were often prosecuted and then deported back to their countries.

In August 2021, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made a formal apology for the raids.

References

Category:Law of New Zealand
Category:20th century in New Zealand