Tongan Family Faces Heartbreaking Deportation Battle While Caring for Seriously Ill Son
A Tongan family in New Zealand is facing an agonizing ordeal as they fight a deportation order while caring for their seriously ill eldest son. Tina and Tafuna Vea’ila, who have lived in the country for 15 years, were served a deportation notice at the end of last month. Tafuna has already been forced to return to Tonga, leaving Tina to care for their two sons alone—one of whom is too sick to travel.
The family’s lawyer, Soane Foliaki, has urgently appealed to Associate Immigration Minister Chris Penk to intervene, arguing that the family has deep ties to New Zealand, has paid taxes, has no criminal record, and that deportation would pose a serious risk to their son’s health.
A Family Torn Apart
Until recently, the Vea’ila family lived a quiet, hardworking life in New Zealand. They came to the country legally on a work visa in 2009, but lost their visa status in 2017. Since then, they have been living in uncertainty, attempting to regularize their immigration status while contributing to their community.
Now, their world has come crashing down. On Wednesday, immigration officials took Tafuna into custody and deported him to Tonga, leaving Tina and the children in emotional and financial distress.
“It’s not easy. It’s a very hard situation for me,” Tina said. “Since they took my husband, I haven’t slept. I’m so scared because my son is not healthy. Since he was born, we have been in and out of the hospital every month. If we are sent back, I don’t think he will survive in Tonga.”
Their 14-year-old son has been battling severe health issues, including recurrent strep throat, pneumonia, and most recently, a seizure that landed him in the hospital. Doctors have deemed him too sick to travel, and a medical report prevented the family from being deported as scheduled.
A Plea for Compassion
Tina’s biggest fear is the lack of medical care available in Tonga. The family’s lawyer, Foliaki, emphasized that the couple has done everything right—working, paying taxes, and raising their children to be successful students.
“These are people who have given to New Zealand. They are not criminals, they are not a burden on society. They have contributed, and their children were born here. They should be allowed to stay,” Foliaki said.
Both children have excelled academically, earning certificates for their achievements. Tina desperately wants them to continue their education in New Zealand, where they have grown up and where their future lies.
“I just want to beg the Minister to give us a chance, so that my boys will have a good education here and a better life,” she pleaded.
Government Response and Political Pressure
Associate Immigration Minister Chris Penk has acknowledged receiving the family’s request and stated that no immediate action will be taken until the intervention is fully considered.
“The application has been accepted for consideration,” Penk said in a statement. “I have been advised that compliance action will not be taken while a decision is being made. I consider it inappropriate to comment on the circumstances of individual cases.”
Meanwhile, the Green Party’s immigration spokesperson, Ricardo Menéndez March, has vowed to push for ministerial intervention to prevent the deportation.
“We have two young people facing the trauma of being stripped from the only country they have ever known,” Menéndez March said. “For one of them, this could mean a life-threatening health crisis if they are sent to a country with inadequate medical care. Deporting them is not only cruel, it is irresponsible.”
Menéndez March criticized the government’s handling of immigration cases, noting that families often have to expose their deepest vulnerabilities to the media just to get a response from officials.
“This is not how we should be treating families who have built their lives here. They shouldn’t have to fight publicly for basic humanity and fairness,” he added.
A Decision That Could Change Lives
The Vea’ila family’s fate now rests in the hands of the Associate Immigration Minister. If their request is denied, Tina and her sons will be forced to leave, potentially putting their eldest son’s health at serious risk.
For now, all they can do is wait, hope, and continue to fight for a future in the only country they call home.
