South Africa’s president unveils crackdown on illegal migration

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has addressed the nation to announce a raft of new measures to crackdown on illegal migration as tensions rise over anti-foreigner marches and frustrations about high unemployment.

These steps include jailing employers who hire undocumented workers, setting up dedicated courts to speed up deportations of undocumented migrants and having a register with biometric data “for every person in the country” to stamp out identity theft.

The BBC report that President Ramaphosa also warned South Africans not to take the law into their own hands.

Over the last few weeks, several African nations have been organising the evacuation of some of their nationals as fears of violence grow.

Anti-migrant groups were demanding undocumented migrants leave the country – and have set 30 June as the deadline.

Last weekend, several hundred African migrants fled their homes in the Overberg region of South Africa’s Western Cape Province after reports of door-to-door intimidation, as well as the deaths of two Mozambicans in Mossel Bay.

Many sought shelter in community halls, at the beach or nearby mountains. Some have opted to return home – and this weekend another group of around 140 people boarded buses to Malawi and Mozambique.

In Durban, foreigners have been camping outside the city’s home affairs department for several weeks, saying they fear for their lives.

Ramaphosa acknowledged illegal migration was putting unfair pressure on South Africa’s public services – and that the issue needed to be addressed by his government.

He set out a five-point strategy to do so, by cracking down on immigration law violators, strengthening border security, stamping out corruption within the immigration system, closing loopholes in immigration law and working with other African countries to tackle the problem.

But he warned against vigilantism: “I must make it clear that only the authorised government officials may act against violations of the law, including violation of our immigration laws.

“No other person is allowed, for example, to confront someone in the street to demand proof of nationality.”

Some analysts have suggested the resurgence of anti-migrant sentiment in South Africa could be linked to local elections scheduled for November.

The president said the authorities would not allow groups to use legitimate concerns “to destabilise” the country by inciting violence.

“We will act against forces who are exploiting the concerns of our people about illegal immigration to further their own political, personal or criminal agendas,” he said, cautioning against social media campaigns that spread misinformation and lies about foreign nationals.

He also told South Africans there was “no space for xenophobia, racism, sexism, Afrophobia or any other forms of intolerance in South Africa”.

“Our country – like many others throughout history – is a product of migration. It is the reason for our diversity and contributes to our vibrancy,” he said.

South Africa is home to more than three million foreigners, about 5 percent of the population, according to official figures – but there are believed to be many more without papers.

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