‘I am surprised India is still considered a very high-risk country’
Ricardo Menendez March, Member of Parliament as well as Immigration spokesperson for the Green Party, believes that a review is required with regards to the countries that are still considered very high risk, including India. “I am surprised that some countries particularly India are still considered very high risk. We can absolutely change how we treat people from countries like India. Also, our border exemption settings are really discriminatory based on country of origin and have nothing to do with public health.”
March, who has been a Parliamentarian since 2020, says treating certain countries as high risk is ‘racial’. He adds, “Why have we treated people from the UK for example very different from people from India when both have had a lot of Covid and both have families and ties with NZ?
“I believe a review of the countries that are currently considered high risk should happen, and that should be based on genuine public health grounds and should not be a 'racialised decision’. When countries like the United States and the United Kingdom were having record levels of infections, we never sought to pose a similar level of restriction on people coming from there.”
One-off visa policy flawed
Another issue that Ricardo is currently campaigning for is to expand the eligibility criteria of the recently announced One-Off Residence visa policy.
“We fought for many months to get a residency to people here. Though we are happy that it has finally happened but unfortunately the policy process was really rushed. And because of that many people who clearly should have been included have been excluded, such as healthcare workers who are on a student visa, partners of temporary visa holders and those stuck offshore, among others.
“The government should have thought about them. If the community would have been consulted, no doubt that these concerns would have come out. It is a shame that we have to fight for a review of something that we were initially very excited about,” says March, who migrated to NZ from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.
On being asked, what amendments does he wish to see in the One-off resident visa, he says, "There should be grant residency to people who are here and those who are offshore, have visas are qualified. After doing that, we can surely talk about the future settings. The government should expand the eligibility criteria to include all visa types who would have met the requirement and expand the scarce list. We will keep fighting for it as it would give certainty to hundreds and thousands of migrants who are now in limbo. I am concerned about people who are thinking that they have to go back because of the impact.”
Traffic light system ‘rushed’
The government has recently announced the new traffic light system, which will replace the current alert level system to protect Kiwis from Covid-19 once the country hits 90 per cent vaccination rates in every region.
“It was pretty rushed and risky. There are many communities including Pacifica, Maori and migrants who have low vaccination rates in certain age group and that should be considered.”
Another major problem that people who want to come to NZ are facing is getting a MIQ spot and there is no doubt that it has become a task to get one, and now the National Party is even asking to remove the requirement of MIQ at all.
“We have been fighting that MIQ allocation should be based on needs. We should have an allocation for humanitarian needs, especially for family reunification. Why can't we have it if this government can do it for business and entertainment groups? Also, I do feel that people who are offshore should be prioritised for a home isolation trial. This lottery system of getting a MIQ slot is not equitable, and throwing everyone in the same lottery does not address the issue of equity,” he said.
Ricardo Menendez March, Member of Parliament as well as Immigration spokesperson for the Green Party, believes that a review is required with regards to the countries that are still considered very high risk, including India. “I am surprised that some countries particularly India are still...
Ricardo Menendez March, Member of Parliament as well as Immigration spokesperson for the Green Party, believes that a review is required with regards to the countries that are still considered very high risk, including India. “I am surprised that some countries particularly India are still considered very high risk. We can absolutely change how we treat people from countries like India. Also, our border exemption settings are really discriminatory based on country of origin and have nothing to do with public health.”
March, who has been a Parliamentarian since 2020, says treating certain countries as high risk is ‘racial’. He adds, “Why have we treated people from the UK for example very different from people from India when both have had a lot of Covid and both have families and ties with NZ?
“I believe a review of the countries that are currently considered high risk should happen, and that should be based on genuine public health grounds and should not be a 'racialised decision’. When countries like the United States and the United Kingdom were having record levels of infections, we never sought to pose a similar level of restriction on people coming from there.”
One-off visa policy flawed
Another issue that Ricardo is currently campaigning for is to expand the eligibility criteria of the recently announced One-Off Residence visa policy.
“We fought for many months to get a residency to people here. Though we are happy that it has finally happened but unfortunately the policy process was really rushed. And because of that many people who clearly should have been included have been excluded, such as healthcare workers who are on a student visa, partners of temporary visa holders and those stuck offshore, among others.
“The government should have thought about them. If the community would have been consulted, no doubt that these concerns would have come out. It is a shame that we have to fight for a review of something that we were initially very excited about,” says March, who migrated to NZ from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.
On being asked, what amendments does he wish to see in the One-off resident visa, he says, "There should be grant residency to people who are here and those who are offshore, have visas are qualified. After doing that, we can surely talk about the future settings. The government should expand the eligibility criteria to include all visa types who would have met the requirement and expand the scarce list. We will keep fighting for it as it would give certainty to hundreds and thousands of migrants who are now in limbo. I am concerned about people who are thinking that they have to go back because of the impact.”
Traffic light system ‘rushed’
The government has recently announced the new traffic light system, which will replace the current alert level system to protect Kiwis from Covid-19 once the country hits 90 per cent vaccination rates in every region.
“It was pretty rushed and risky. There are many communities including Pacifica, Maori and migrants who have low vaccination rates in certain age group and that should be considered.”
Another major problem that people who want to come to NZ are facing is getting a MIQ spot and there is no doubt that it has become a task to get one, and now the National Party is even asking to remove the requirement of MIQ at all.
“We have been fighting that MIQ allocation should be based on needs. We should have an allocation for humanitarian needs, especially for family reunification. Why can't we have it if this government can do it for business and entertainment groups? Also, I do feel that people who are offshore should be prioritised for a home isolation trial. This lottery system of getting a MIQ slot is not equitable, and throwing everyone in the same lottery does not address the issue of equity,” he said.
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