SA adopts tougher strategy amid xenophobic unrest

President Cyril Ramaphosa has unveiled a new, hardline strategy to tackle the escalating illegal immigration crisis, mainly from neighbouring African countries, as xenophobic threats intensify in SA, displacing hundreds of foreign nationals, many of whom are legally in SA, notes Legalbrief Africa. His strategy includes the establishment of dedicated courts to expedite deportation. In his address to the nation on Sunday night, Ramaphosa acknowledged the growing public anxiety over border security, job losses and buckling public services, admitting ‘these concerns are real’. The address comes after a Cabinet meeting that adopted a comprehensive migration management strategy. 'Last week Cabinet adopted a Comprehensive Approach for Migration Management. This approach has been endorsed by the President’s Co-ordinating Council, which includes Premiers and Members of Executive Committees, representatives of local government and representatives of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders,' Ramaphosa said. At the heart of the strategy is an intensified enforcement drive. Ramaphosa said the Border Management Authority (BMA) intercepted over 450 000 individuals attempting illegal entry over the past year. 'We will set up dedicated courts to deal with immigration to speedily support the deportation of undocumented migrants,' he said. 'The SA Police Service, Home Affairs and Department of Employment & Labour are increasing inspections targeting companies employing undocumented foreign nationals. As part of rebuilding the labour enforcement capacity, the Department of Employment & Labour has launched the phased recruitment of 10 000 inspectors for this financial year. We are going to increase the penalties, including imprisonment, for employers who violate the Immigration Act,' Ramaphosa said. He added that guilty companies would no longer be able to 'merely pay a fine' and continue business as usual. The state is also moving to close fragmented legal loopholes. The newly finalised National Labour Migration Policy and the Employment Services Amendment Bill will empower the state to set strict maximum quotas on foreign national employment across specific economic sectors. Ramaphosa also announced major systemic shifts to combat identity fraud:

* Border Relocation: Refugee reception centres will be systematically moved to border posts to process asylum applications at the point of entry.

* The End of Green IDs: Home Affairs will progressively discontinue the green barcoded ID books, which have been heavily compromised by criminal syndicates, replacing them with a biometric-backed Digital ID system.

* Traffic Register Changes: The Department of Transport will issue new regulations within three months to end the abuse of Traffic Registration Numbers by foreign nationals using them as illicit identification.

Turning to the volatile informal economy, Ramaphosa validated local frustration regarding foreign-run spaza shops squeezing South Africans out of their own community markets. He promised government intervention through proper business registration and support via the Spaza Shop Fund. However, he warned against vigilantism and anti-foreigner sentiment. ‘I must make it clear that only the authorised government officials may act against violations of the law, including violation of our immigration laws. We will and must not allow groups to use the legitimate concerns of South Africans to destabilise our country through inciting lawlessness and violence.’ Regarding misinformation campaigns, he said: ‘We will not be fooled or influenced by social media campaigns that spread misinformation, fake news and lies about foreign nationals.’ He added: ‘We know that South Africans are not xenophobic as there is no space for xenophobia, racism, sexism, Afrophobia or any other forms of intolerance in SA.’ However, Ramaphosa rejected the notion that the country must tolerate illegal immigration. ‘We can protect our borders while protecting human dignity. We can enforce our laws while upholding our Constitution. We can secure our communities while preserving the values of Ubuntu that define us as a people,’ he said. This comes after hundreds of Ekurhuleni residents concluded a week-long series of marches against illegal immigration on Saturday by handing a memorandum of demands to the metro’s councillor for community safety, Mzayifani Ngwenya, reports News24. The primary demand was ‘the immediate removal of illegal immigrants from our communities’. ’ Despite previous references to a 30 June ‘deadline’ for foreigners to leave SA, march leaders clarified that there would be no shutdown on that date.

There’s mounting concern among business groups over rising public tensions surrounding illegal immigration and the potential for further outbreaks of xenophobic violence, reports Moneyweb. Business Unity SA (Busa) and Business Leadership SA (BLSA) on Friday urged government to take charge of the situation, restore order and address the legitimate concerns raised by communities impacted by years of illegal immigration. This is the latest joint warning by the two business organisations, as it comes just a day after they called for action on the City of Johannesburg’s worsening financial crisis. ‘At a time of heightened economic pressures, unemployment, high crime levels and social challenges, it is understandable that citizens seek solutions to legitimate concerns regarding economic inclusion, service delivery, border management and the rule of law,’ said Busa and BLSA in a statement. However, these concerns must be addressed through lawful and constructive policy interventions. There have been calls for retaliatory action against SA from countries such as Nigeria and Ghana, that have formally requested a debate on xenophobic attacks in SA against African nationals at the upcoming African Union co-ordination summit.

Despite high-profile repatriation operations and reports of growing social tensions, evidence suggests a large-scale exodus of foreign residents from SA has yet to materialise, reports the Sunday Tribune. International organisations, often regarded as key indicators of voluntary or forced migration trends, report no notable increase in requests from migrants seeking assistance to return home. The International Organisation for Migration said it has not received any formal requests for assisted voluntary returns from SA. Similarly, the UN Refugee Agency reported no increase in the number of refugees seeking to return to their countries of origin this year. Nevertheless, regional governments are responding to concerns about rising tensions. Nigeria has announced plans to repatriate more than 1 000 of its citizens from SA, while Ghana has already facilitated the return of hundreds of its nationals.

Ramaphosa’s tougher stance on the enforcement of immigration laws raises the uncomfortable question of whether he is setting SA's agenda or simply chasing one set by fear-mongering activists, writes Qaanitah Hunter, founding editor of The Debrief Network in a News24 analysis. Ramaphosa wants South Africans to believe he has taken control of the immigration debate, states Hunter. ‘The problem is that leaders rarely announce sweeping action plans when they are in control. They do so when political pressure has become impossible to ignore.’ She feel the announcement was presented as a government finally responding to a legitimate public concern. ‘But beneath the policy announcements lay a more uncomfortable political reality: South Africa’s immigration agenda is increasingly being shaped by the loudest and most extreme voices in the room.’ She says it does not not mean those voices are right, nor does it mean concerns about illegal immigration are imaginary. ‘And that’s why Ramaphosa’s address on Sunday seemed like a well-choreographed dance in public appeasement.'

'The country’s immigration system has been weakened by corruption, administrative failure and years of poor enforcement. Many South Africans have legitimate questions about whether the state knows who is entering the country, who is working here and whether immigration laws are being applied consistently. But there is a difference between addressing a problem and surrendering the terms of the debate to those who exploit it. That is the tightrope Ramaphosa attempted to walk on Sunday night.’ Hunter notes in the News24 analysis that three realities now coexist in SA. She says that first, there is a genuine governance failure, second, economic hardship has created fertile ground for scapegoating and third, and most troublingly, organised political actors have weaponised those frustrations into something far more dangerous: a campaign that increasingly blurs the line between vigilantism cloaked as immigration law enforcement and outright xenophobia. ‘Together, these forces have created a combustible political environment. Ramaphosa’s response was carefully calibrated. First, he acknowledged public concern. Then he promised tougher enforcement.’ Hunter says the most revealing feature of the speech was not what Ramaphosa said about immigration, it was what he said about those claiming to speak for South Africans on the issue: 'Immigration law enforcement, he insisted, is a duty that belongs to the state. Not to vigilantes, political entrepreneurs nor to social media agitators.'

Hunter says one of the most damaging myths currently taking hold in SA is that xenophobia and immigration law enforcement are somehow inseparable. 'They are not. A functioning state should be able to enforce its immigration laws without mobs conducting inspections of businesses. It should be able to secure its borders without political actors inciting hostility against migrants. It should be able to distinguish between undocumented immigration and collective punishment. The fact that this even needs to be said is evidence of how far the debate has deteriorated.’ Hunter says in the News24 analysis that Ramaphosa did not fully capitulate to the anti-immigrant movement, but neither can he convincingly claim that it had no effect, because the timing is revealing. ‘Ramaphosa is attempting to reclaim an issue after losing control of the conversation around it. He wants to reassure voters that government is acting while denying political victory to those who forced the issue onto the national agenda. Whether that balancing act succeeds will depend less on the speech itself than on what follows. Because immigration policy can be implemented, but once political entrepreneurs discover that fear works, they rarely leave the stage voluntarily.’

Displaced migrants following xenophobic violence in SA’s Western Cape Province left the region by bus on Thursday, reports africanews. The foreign nationals had been forced out of their homes after attacks that occurred less than a week earlier in the Southern Cape area. According to the border management authority, nearly 600 Mozambicans fled Mossel Bay and returned home in the days following the violence. Nearly a week after the incidents, around 100 foreign nationals from Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe were still crammed into a community hall in Mossel Bay with their belongings, under police guard. They were joined by several South Africans from Limpopo Province, who said they feared they could also be targeted because they are not Xhosa. On site, local authorities carried out registration and processing operations, including fingerprinting and administrative checks. Families, including women and children, were among those seen in the displacement centres. No details were provided on the total number of people affected or the exact arrangements for their relocation or repatriation.

Meanwhile, a total of 150 Malawian nationals have begun their journey back home from SA under a co-ordinated voluntary repatriation exercise, with the first two buses departing the Western Cape on Saturday, reports IoL. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, they form part of a group of foreign nationals who were displaced and had been accommodated in temporary camps in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape Province. The Ministry confirmed that the operation was facilitated through a multi-agency effort involving a Malawi Task Team deployed to SA under the coordination of the Malawi High Commission in SA. The nationals are travelling by road through Zimbabwe and Mozambique, with arrival expected at the Mwanza Border Post today (Monday). From there, they will proceed to the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre for processing before continuing to their respective home districts. Upon arrival in Malawi, authorities say the returnees will undergo administrative processing and reintegration procedures as part of the government’s structured support plan. The repatriation marks one of the latest organised movements of Malawian nationals from SA as regional coordination efforts continue to manage displacement cases and ensure safe returns.

Police in Nigeria have warned against reprisal attacks targeting SA nationals or businesses following a wave of anti-migrant protests in SA, reports BBC News. The police urged Nigerians not to take the law into their own hands, after ‘reported attacks on Nigerians in SA’. No such attacks have been reported in Nigeria but the warning followed a meeting of security and intelligence chiefs. SA police have not confirmed any attacks on foreigners, although the government has condemned ‘criminal acts’ directed at foreign nationals. Tensions have been rising in SA in recent weeks following demonstrations calling for tougher action against undocumented migrants. ‘We recognise the pain and anger caused by recent attacks on Nigerians abroad,’ Aliyu Giwa, a senior police spokesperson, said in a post on X. He added that violence would not protect Nigerians abroad and ‘would only create additional crises’. In his post, which quoted the statement by the Nigerian police force, he said the matter was being addressed by the government ‘at the highest levels’. The Nigerian police say additional security measures have been put in place around foreign missions, key infrastructure and other sensitive locations. ‘Any attempt to target SA nationals, diplomatic facilities, businesses, or other lawful interests within Nigeria will be treated as a criminal act,’ they said. Previous outbreaks of xenophobic violence in SA have triggered diplomatic tensions and retaliatory attacks in Nigeria, where some SA-owned businesses were vandalised and looted.

Meanwhile, protesters gathered on Saturday outside the headquarters of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the Lac district of Tunis, demanding the deportation of undocumented sub-Saharan African migrants and calling on the organisation to leave Tunisia. Migration is a sensitive issue in Tunisia, a key transit point for tens of thousands of people seeking to reach Europe each year, reports africanews. In February 2023, President Kais Saied said ‘hordes of illegal migrants’, many from sub-Saharan Africa, posed a demographic threat to the Arab-majority country. His speech triggered a series of racially motivated attacks as thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants in Tunisia were pushed out of their homes and jobs. Thousands were repatriated or attempted to cross the Mediterranean, while others were expelled to the desert borders with Algeria and Libya, where at least a hundred died that summer.