“It’s not a reflection on the individual migrants… It’s a reflection on the fact that we have New Zealanders who are desperate for jobs and need to be given the first opportunity.”

Authorities allege that Jashanpreet Singh, who illegally entered the U.S. in March 2022, was speeding and failed to brake before hitting slow-moving traffic, causing the deadly chain-reaction crash.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) said Patel initially ran legitimate businesses but later turned them into fronts for a fraudulent scheme that sold false employment opportunities to visa applicants.

The ABS issued a public statement clarifying that overseas arrivals figures had been misused to suggest inflated migration numbers.

18-year-old Navjot Singh’s father was deported when he was just five days old, and his mother lost her legal status in 2012.

Julian Hill MP noted that Australia’s population is ageing and that many sectors, from agriculture to hospitality, rely on temporary and skilled migrant labour.

44% of those granted visas are primary applicants; the rest are partners and dependants. 52% of all visas have gone to men and 48% to women.

Most of the 40 inspected businesses, employing migrant workers, were in the fast food, restaurant and café sector, with others in hair and beauty, manufacturing, recreation, and health.

"Most of the problems we hear are caused by our workers in Australia, not by the employers or the Australian government. That is something we have to sort out here before they are deployed.”

AFP alleges that the 37-year-old failed to comply with his visa-mandated curfew by going within a prohibited distance of a school.