Less than one in 10 former immigration detainees wearing ankle monitors after High Court ruling

Less than one in 10 of the non-citizens released from immigration detention are now being tracked with ankle monitors after a second High Court ruling demolished the Government’s ability to keep tabs on people they are unable to deport. The court ruled in November that visa conditions mandating electronic monitoring and curfews were punitive and unconstitutional because the minister had not been required to make a positive decision to impose them. It came a year after the court ruled in the NZYQ case that people — mainly convicted criminals — could not be kept in immigration detention indefinitely if there was no prospect of deporting them. In the lead-up to last month’s ruling, 150 of the 224 people had ankle monitors as a condition of their bridging (removal pending) visas. As well, 130 people in the cohort were subject to strict curfews. But by the end of November, this had plummeted to 24 with ankle monitors and 18 with curfews. At the same time, the number of people on the special bridging visa increased to 248. Some other visa conditions, such as requirements to notify the department about financial transactions or debts worth more than $10,000, were also imposed on fewer people by the end of November compared with the month prior. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rushed new regulations into existence in the days after the YBFZ court ruling to enable him to review each of the cases and reimpose ankle monitors and curfews where he believed the person posed a risk to community safety. But he conceded last week that not everybody who previously had an ankle bracelet on would qualify under the new test. He said those “where there’s the greatest risk to the community” would have monitors reapplied. Legislation underpinning this new system and giving the Government more powers to make people comply with deportation was among the dozens of bills rammed through on the final day of Parliament. Four days after the new regulations came into effect, The West asked the Department of Home Affairs detailed questions about how many determinations Mr Burke had made and how many reviews had resulted in visa conditions being lifted. At the time, a spokesperson said the department did not provide “specific details relating to ongoing operational matters”. They insisted people on BVRs must continue to abide by stringent mandatory visa conditions until notified of any changes. The monthly community protection summary says “every individual is monitored” either via electronic tracking of mandatory reporting.