Immigration New Zealand is defending a ban on a rap group it’s comparing to white supremacists and Holocaust deniers.

Odd Future have been blocked from visiting the country, ahead of a scheduled performance with Eminem in Auckland tomorrow night.

National border operations manager Karen Irwin says the decision is because of their history of inciting violence at concerts.

She says Immigration New Zealand is not here to be morals police, but to protect the country from threats to public safety.

She says any foreign national visiting New Zealand who poses a risk of inciting violence doesn’t have a right to visit the country.

Its decision follows pressure from Auckland Councillors who objected to the group’s lyrics about rape and violence.

But it’s been suggested that the decision was race-based – given Eminem’s own lyrics.

The Immigration and Associate Immigration Ministers aren’t commenting – calling it an operational matter for the department.