A Samoan teenager adopted by a New Zealand resident in a “coerced relocation” will not be deported, the Immigration and Protection Tribunal ruled, after she was subjected to violence and her baby was temporarily taken into care.

The woman, who was 18 when she arrived in 2022, came to New Zealand six months pregnant and gave birth by caesarean. 

She fled her adoptive home after experiencing abuse, leaving her newborn behind. 

Her brother was also assaulted. Oranga Tamariki, New Zealand’s child protection agency, took both children into care, though the mother and daughter have since been reunited.

Immigration New Zealand had decided to deport her because she did not disclose that she was in a relationship upon arrival. 

The tribunal said she was blameless for her adoption and for failing to inform authorities.

According to the tribal the woman did not know she was being adopted and that her adoptive mother had no real connection to her or her siblings. 

The case highlights wider concerns about unsafe adoptions, child abuse, and inadequate welfare safeguards in countries that are not part of the Hague Convention.

Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced a temporary ban on certain international adoptions in September and said she would introduce a bill this year to create a long-term solution.

The tribunal added that while no trafficking claims were made in this case, other Samoan teens adopted at a similar age had faced exploitation in New Zealand, including forced labor. 

In another case last March, a man adopted as a teenager said his aunt and uncle forced him to work long hours for little pay and physically abused him, including breaking his arm.