New Zealand’s prime minister on Thursday chided a senior colleague who shouted “send the Mexicans home” in a nod to Donald Trump during an immigration debate in parliament.
Fisheries minister Shane Jones made the remark earlier this week and then refused to apologise after a Mexico-born opposition MP said it was “outwardly racist and xenophobic”.
“Send the Mexicans home,” Jones shouted, before later interjecting: “Call Mr Trump. Call Mr Trump.”
“Look it’s a Mexican standoff. I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Jones later told national broadcaster Radio NZ.
“If these foreign-born New Zealanders are not going to show respect to the culture of New Zealand, then I’m going to call them out,” he told news website Stuff.
Jones’ comments appeared to be a jab at Green Party MP Ricardo Menendez March, who was born in Mexico.
March said Jones had ripped “a page from the Trump playbook” and was seeking to ostracise migrant communities.
Cabinet minister Jones is a member of the nationalist NZ First party, a minor partner in New Zealand’s three-way governing coalition.
Prime Minister Chris Luxon chided Jones on Thursday, saying “everybody just needs to watch their rhetoric”.
Luxon’s government tightened visa rules amid a surge in migration last year, capping the amount of time that low-skilled workers were allowed to stay in the country.
US President Trump has swiftly moved to crack down on immigration since taking office earlier this month.
On his first day back in office, Trump declared a national emergency at the US southern border and vowed to deport “millions and millions” of migrants.
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