Deportees

New Zealand funds rehab centre for Tongan deportees

The move comes after Tonga criticised New Zealand and Australia over their controversial deportations of Tongan convicts, many of whom have spent little time in the Kingdom.

New Zealand's just approved 28,000 Tongan pa'anga, or around $17,000 Australian dollars, which will go towards funding a new centre run by Tonga's Dare to Dream Foundation, which has been providing support for people deported to the Kingdom for years.

The foundation's chair, 'Uhila-moe-Langi Fasi, said it was good news for deportees struggling in Tonga.

Tonga lacks social services to cope with deportees arrivals

“Reintegration of citizens who sometimes don't know their native land, tradition and culture is a challenge,” said the U.S. Ambassador to Tonga, Judith Cefkin.

The United States last year deported 19 Tongan citizens, with three so far in 2017.

No one is estimating how many more deportees will come under the new US administration's hardline deportation policy over the next four years, but the level of concern on the agenda at the National Deportation Reintegration Conference suggests that many more deportees are expected to arrive in Tonga.