As anti-illegal immigration protests continue to spread across South Africa, law enforcement agencies are intensifying operations against undocumented foreign nationals, with fresh arrests in the Free State and lengthy prison sentences handed down to two foreign nationals convicted of violent crimes. The latest developments come as public pressure mounts on the government to tighten border security and enforce immigration laws. Thousands of South Africans have taken to the streets in recent days under the banner of the March and March…

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has formally called on Parliament to convene an urgent debate on the nationwide protests that swept across South Africa on 30 June, arguing that the demonstrations exposed deep public frustration over the government’s handling of illegal immigration, border security and organised crime. In a letter addressed to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza, ATM parliamentary leader Vuyo Zungula invoked Rule 130 of the National Assembly Rules, which allows for an urgent debate on matters of pressing…

A largely peaceful day of nationwide anti-illegal immigration protests was overshadowed by a shooting in Johannesburg’s Hillbrow on Tuesday, where a 17-year-old boy and another person were wounded after gunfire erupted during a march. Gauteng police confirmed that three suspects were arrested after the shooting, which occurred as protesters moved through the Hillbrow CBD during demonstrations organised by the March and March movement, Operation Dudula and other organisations calling for stronger action against illegal immigration. According to police, the suspects…

It is “anti-illegal immigration”, not “anti-immigration”. To label the aggrieved vigilantes is to condescendingly saunter about bereft of empathy for those burdened with pain of walking with stones in their shoes. Narrative-fixers blur this immigration on purpose. This clouds the issue. It makes honest resolution impossible. Behind the blur are other maladies that lurk beneath what the eye can see. Farm exploitation Undocumented workers are paid slave wages, opening them up to living in slave conditions. Some are killed, buried…

Thousands of South Africans flooded the streets across the country on Tuesday as the long-awaited 30 June anti-illegal immigration protests gained momentum, with demonstrators calling on the government to deport undocumented migrants while insisting their campaign was not directed at foreign nationals who are legally in the country. From Johannesburg and Durban to Cape Town and several smaller towns, crowds carrying South African flags marched through city centres, chanting slogans demanding tighter border controls and stricter enforcement of immigration laws.…

Recently, the South African government has been trying to arrest the effects of xenophobia. However, as a country, it is crucial that we analyse the so-called xenophobic attacks within the context of a lack of responses from other African countries, including those that had previously hosted South African refugees when the opportunity arose. The allegations of xenophobia, Afrophobia, and criminality directly result from the elected political class’s inadequate service delivery, which fails to provide essential services, including adequate healthcare, particularly…

ActionSA has accused the Government of National Unity (GNU) of failing to address illegal immigration, arguing that the government has prioritised policing public protests over enforcing the country’s immigration laws. The party’s remarks come a day before planned nationwide demonstrations over illegal immigration and border security, with organisers calling for peaceful marches across several parts of South Africa on Tuesday. On Monday, ActionSA President Herman Mashaba said the government had failed to fulfil its constitutional responsibility to deal decisively with…

South African police have intensified preparations ahead of the planned anti-immigration demonstrations expected to take place across the country on 30 June, with Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia expected to inspect and address a major law enforcement parade at FNB Stadium on Friday afternoon as authorities enter the final phase of operational readiness. The parade follows a week of high-level security engagements involving the South African Police Service (SAPS), intelligence structures, provincial police leadership and representatives of the private security…

It’s important to lay down the foundation of knowledge and data about the extent of attacks on illegal immigrants in South Africa over the past decade or so. Many debates arise within the topics of migration, migrant rights, and the structures and systems when it comes to how wide the scope should be considered in determining the degrees of migrants’ legality in a state.   Globally, immigration debates have given rise to Nationalist parties rising in countries all over the world.…

Limpopo police have arrested 20 undocumented Ethiopians after intercepting a bakkie on its way from the Beitbridge Border Post to Gauteng.  The crackdown occurred in Mahwelereng outside Mokopane on Tuesday, March 18. The police stopped a Ford Ranger loaded with illegal foreign nations after receiving a tip-off about a smuggling syndicate.  According to Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Thakeng, the police received intelligence that a white Ford Ranger double-cap allegedly smuggled illegal foreign nationals between Beitbridge and Gauteng Province.  The police immediately…