Green MPs Lawrence Xu-Nan and Francisco Hernandez.

The Green Party has called on the speaker of the house and the prime minister to reprimand government ministers for their comments about migrants.

During a debate, New Zealand First Minister Shane Jones yelled “Send the Mexicans home,” and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters made remarks about migrants while being heckled by Green MPs Lawrence Xu-Nan and Francisco Hernandez.

Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March, born in Mexico, labeled the comments as “outwardly racist and xenophobic” and urged the prime minister to take action. Menéndez March also mentioned that Peters suggested Xu-Nan and Hernandez should not have political opinions due to their migrant backgrounds.

The Greens have written to Christopher Luxon and speaker Gerry Brownlee, asking them to publicly denounce the comments.

Peters denied any anti-immigrant sentiment, stating he was addressing the behavior of two MPs jeering from the back benches. ACT leader David Seymour expressed that he would not have made such comments, emphasizing that all individuals in New Zealand, regardless of their arrival time, are Kiwis.