Jacinda Ardern Has Apologized For 70s Immigration Crackdown On Pacific Islanders - NPR

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, seen above at a COVID-19 press conference in August 2020, has apologized for the 1970s Dawn Raids.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, seen above at a COVID-19 press conference in August 2020, has apologized for the 1970s Dawn Raids.

Beginning in 1974, New Zealand police armed with dogs woke up Pacific Islanders who allegedly overstayed their visas at dawn, pushed them into police vans for questioning, then often deported them and placed their children in state care homes.

Nearly 50 years later, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday formally apologized for those raids and the lasting hurt they have caused.

New Zealand's minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, born in Samoa, was a victim of the Dawn Raids when he was a teen.

"This is part of deep and longer conversations and one of the gifts that was offered tonight is a comprehensive history of the Dawn Raids, and we intend to ensure that our Pacific communities will have the opportunity to come forward to tell their stories," Sio said after the apology