Source: Radio New Zealand
Everlee Wihongi. Supplied
New Zealand consular staff in the US are talking to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials about the case of the New Zealander who has been held in ICE custody for over a month.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ office said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (MFAT) consular team have been in contact with ICE officials to clarify what Everlee Wihongi has been charged with.
This is the first time the government has confirmed any direct contact with US officials since Wihongi’s detention on 10 April.
Wihongi is a New Zealand citizen, but has lived in the US for decades and holds a green card. She was detained upon re-entering the US following a three-week visit to New Zealand.
The update comes after RNZ’s questions to Peters’ office after Everlee Wihongi’s lawyer pointed out the minister was incorrect to say that she was being detained for not declaring a previous conviction, and the fact Wihongi and her family were still in the dark about what she had been charged with.
Wihongi’s lawyer Marc Christopher told RNZ she had been detained due to a decade-old conviction for a felony offence of marijuana possession, but he said it remained unclear what deportable offence she had now been charged with, despite that she appeared before a judge on 28 April.
Christopher said Peters was wrong to say Wihongi was detained due to hiding her previous conviction.
When RNZ put the comments to Peters’ office, a spokesperson said in a statement: “We have no further comment as a legal process is in play.
“MFAT’s consular team is in contact with Everlee Wihongi’s legal team, along with ICE officials seeking clarification on the exact nature of the charges.
“I am copying in MFAT who will be best placed to provide you with any further updates”.
MFAT has been approached for comment on what they found out from any communication with ICE officials and Wihongi’s legal team.
Everlee Wihongi, pictured with whanau. Supplied
Wihongi’s family has repeatedly called for MFAT and the minister to do more to help.
MFAT and Peters had previously said the government could not interfere in immigration decisions of another country.
Asked for his thoughts on Wihongi’s recent transfer from California to Arizona – which her relative said was a gruelling journey where she was denied food and not allowed to shower – a spokesperson from Peters’ office said in a statement: “I am forwarding these queries to MFAT as they very much pertain on the consular efforts by their team in the States”.
The statement also said there had been no ministerial contact with US authorities.
“In the first instance consular support is the appropriate course of action,” the statement said.
Christopher told Midday Report he had spoken to New Zealand consular staff and they had been concerned with Wihongi’s healthcare and her treatment. However, he said he was not sure what they had been able to do for Wihongi.
Green MP Teanau Tuiono. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Ministers not communicating with US officials
Meanwhile, official responses to written Parliamentary questions lodged by Green MP Teanau Tuiono revealed multiple ministers and their offices had neither sought nor received communications with US authorities about Wihongi’s case.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford’s office said it had seen no advice, reports, briefings, emails or documents relating to Wihongi’s detention. Her office also confirmed there had been “none” in terms of correspondence with the US embassy or US officials.
The same response came from Māori Development and Te Arawhiti Minister Tama Potaka’s offices, which said neither the minister nor staff had seen documents on the case or communicated with US officials.
Peters’ claim a ‘falsehood’ – aunt
The disclosures come as Wihongi’s family said her situation has become increasingly alarming after she was abruptly transferred from an ICE detention facility in Adelanto, California.
In a letter sent directly to Peters, Wihongi’s aunt Jenny Hewett-Sauauga accused the minister of publicly misrepresenting the circumstances surrounding her niece’s detention.
“I was highly disappointed to hear you say that Everlee had not declared her previous records, and that is why she was detained,” Hewett-Sauauga wrote.
“As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I would have expected you to have looked into this matter with due diligence before putting this falsehood out into a public forum.”
Christopher: ICE ‘flushed with money’ and going after minor cases
Christopher told Midday Report that while in the past ICE enforcement was limited by its budget, they’re now “flushed with money” and pursuing people with minor previous convictions.
He said as of July 2025, ICE has increased its detention facility budget by over 400 percent.
Christopher said in the past ICE focused on people who had committed more serious crimes, and it was rare that they would detain someone for months over a possession of marijuana conviction, but that had now changed under the Trump administration.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand