Middleton to stay in NZ after minister intervenes
Associate Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi is seeking a ‘‘please explain’’ from Immigration NZ officials after he intervened to stop a man being deported.
On Friday, Mark Middleton, the stepfather of murdered Lower Hutt teenager Karla Cardno, learned he will not be deported.
He had earlier this month been ordered to leave, despite spending most of his life in New Zealand.
When contacted about the U-turn, Middleton said he would celebrate the news by spending quality, ‘‘quiet time’’ with his family. He was at work when he was arrested and told he had overstayed for 30 years.
‘‘I came here in 1962 with my parents and I was schooled here. I grew up here. This has always been my home.’’
In 1989, his 13-year-old stepdaughter was kidnapped, raped and murdered in Lower Hutt by Paul Dally. In 2001, Middleton was sentenced to nine months in prison over threats he made against Dally.
A spokesperson for Faafoi said: ‘‘The minister will not be commenting further on this case other than to note that he will speak with Immigration NZ to discuss the circumstances of the case and to ensure any possible lessons have been learned.’’
Middleton was served a deportation notice on April 10 after he was arrested at work by Immigration NZ and police, despite having already arranged to meet them later in the day. Middleton arrived from England as a 4-yearold.
On Sunday Middleton said he was surprised when Immigration NZ officers appeared at his workplace with the police, acting aggressively toward him.
‘‘They were quite hostile. It was a real shock the way they behaved.’’
Immigration NZ general manager Peter Devoy said last week that Middleton was served a deportation order on April 10 as he had been living unlawfully in New Zealand since December 23, 1986.
‘‘He came to the attention of Immigration NZ last year ... in a pool of unlawful historical clients.’’
Middleton was issued a 30-day visitor visa in November 1986 after returning from a holiday but Devoy said he did not have valid re-entry permission.
Middleton’s lawyer, Keith Jefferies, said the situation had been totally unacceptable.
‘‘This man arrived in 1962 with four siblings as a pre-approved immigrant. The other siblings all have permanent residence and citizenship; it looks like there’s been a bureaucratic bungle.’’
It appeared Middleton’s immigrant status had not been recorded correctly, an ‘‘outrageous incompetence’’, Jefferies said.
Jefferies had asked Immigration NZ officers what Middleton’s immigration status was on arrival but they could not tell him, he said.
‘‘The department has to look at that degree of incompetency of its officers because this is just not good enough.’’