New Zealand Prime Minister apologizes for 1970s immigration raids

• Pacific Islanders represented a third of visa overstayers but comprised 86% of those prosecuted for deportation, per Al Jazeera.

Catch up quick: In the aftermath of World War II, New Zealand welcomed thousands of Pacific Islanders on temporary visas because the country needed workers.

• The raids, which lasted from 1974 to 1976, were spurred on by an economic downturn that prompted some New Zealanders to see "migrants as jeopardising [sic] their financial security and quality of life," Arden said during a speech in Auckland Sunday.

The big picture: "Today, I stand on behalf of the New Zealand government to offer a formal and unreserved apology to Pacific communities for the discriminatory implementation of the immigration laws of the 1970s that led to the events of the Dawn Raids," Ardern said.

• "The Government expresses its sorrow, remorse, and regret that the Dawn Raids and random police checks occurred and that these actions were ever considered appropriate."

The government will offer $1.5 million worth of academic education and vocational scholarships to Pacific communities, the government announced in a press release.

• It will also offer nearly $700,000 in short-term training course scholarships to delegates from Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Fiji, and offer additional resources to schools to teach the history of the raids.