Through this petition, we demand that

James Casson should immediately be

● Removed from his role as Immigration Manager

● Removed from his role as councillor of Hamilton City Council for his ongoing xenophobic and Islamophobic verbal attacks.

● Required to undergo human rights and anti-racism training

● All immigration cases under his jurisdiction must be judicially reviewed to ensure there was no bias

1) In 2016, James Casson referred to the Muslim refugees in Europe as "scum". His full social media comment was that it is "time to get hard, time for retribution, and extreme violence to rid Europe of these scum".

2) James Casson says New Zealanders should stop mourning the victims of Christchurch terrorist attack and police should stop guarding the mosques. https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/386028/councillor-james-casson-criticised-by-hamilton-mayor-for-comments-after-christchurch-terror-attacks

3) James Casson holds offices both as a public servant and as an elected Councillor. Both of these roles required adherence to a Code of Conduct which has been violated. He has treated members of the community he serves with contempt and hatred.

Racist, homophobic, xenophobic and Islamophobic verbal attacks should not be tolerated by anyone. These type of remarks have no place in any society. In particular, when persons who hold public office and work as public servants make such comments, this validates, encourages and incites further racist and homophobic attacks.

The rhetoric that James was espousing in 2016 about Muslims and migrants clearly hasn't changed. Otherwise he would not have repeated similar comments again in 2019 in the aftermath of Christchurch terror attack.

His comments clearly show the contempt and hatred he has towards the Migrant and Muslim communities. His comments are repulsive, hurtful and insensitive at a time when the nation is reeling from such a huge tragedy. He has shown total disregard for the victims, the injured and those affected physically and emotionally. More importantly, his views validate and empower other racists because he holds positions of power in our society.

At a time when the nation is coming together to unite and heal, he is proving to be an epitome of everything that we are trying to rid ourselves of.