Johannesburg | April 15, 2026
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has deported nearly 110,000 undocumented immigrants since the formation of the Government of National Unity in 2024, according to figures released by the department and verified by opposition MPs — a pace of enforcement that has drawn both praise from supporters and sharp criticism from rights organisations.
The numbers, released as part of a parliamentary tracking exercise, represent a dramatic acceleration from the 39,672 deportations recorded in the 2023/24 financial year. The increase reflects both a political commitment by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber to accelerate enforcement and a more streamlined process for processing and removing individuals found to be in the country illegally.
What the Numbers Mean
The 110,000 figure includes individuals removed through official border crossings and those apprehended within South Africa during immigration enforcement operations. The department has pointed to improved co-ordination with the South African Police Service and the establishment of dedicated immigration courts as factors enabling faster processing.
The nationalities most affected include Zimbabweans, who constitute the largest single group of undocumented immigrants in South Africa, followed by people from Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, and a broader set of African countries from which economic migrants arrive in search of work in South Africa’s relatively large formal and informal economy.
The Political Context
South Africa’s relationship with immigration is deeply contested. The country has a constitution that enshrines rights for all people within its borders — not only citizens — and its courts have historically been reluctant to permit deportations that violate procedural rights. Several legal challenges to specific deportation practices are currently pending, and rights organisations have argued that the accelerated pace of removals has come at the cost of due process.
The Human Rights Commission has raised concerns about reports of mass arrests in inner-city areas and informal settlements, many of which are home to significant numbers of undocumented immigrants. Critics allege that enforcement operations have sometimes been indiscriminate, catching individuals with valid documents alongside those without.
On the other side, communities in townships and informal areas — particularly those bordering countries like Zimbabwe — argue that immigration enforcement has been too lenient for too long. The argument that undocumented immigrants strain public health facilities, compete for low-skilled jobs, and contribute to crime is a persistent one in South African political discourse.
The Economic Dimension
South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, officially exceeding 30 percent and much higher when discouraged job seekers are included. In this context, the presence of an estimated 500,000 to one million undocumented immigrants becomes a charged political issue.
Research on the economic impact of immigration in South Africa is mixed. Studies commissioned by the Reserve Bank have suggested that immigrant labour fills important gaps in the agricultural, construction, and service sectors, and that the net fiscal impact may be roughly neutral or even slightly positive. But these aggregate findings cut little political ice in communities where competition for any job is fierce.
Regional Relations
South Africa’s immigration stance has not been without consequence for its relationships with neighbouring countries. Zimbabwe, in particular, has been vocal in its criticism of what it characterises as the stigmatisation of Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa.
For countries like Malawi and Mozambique, whose citizens are also significantly affected, the calculus is more complex. Remittances from South Africa represent a meaningful share of national income for some of the smaller economies in the region.
The Schreiber Approach
Leon Schreiber has styled his approach as evidence-based. He has commissioned data-driven reviews of visa categories, promised an overhaul of the refugee status determination system — widely regarded as broken, with backlogs stretching into decades — and established measurable targets for deportation processing times.
Whether the political approach can satisfy both the GNU’s coalition management requirements and the courts remains to be seen. South Africa’s Constitutional Court has previously intervened to halt deportation practices it found unconstitutional.
Parliament is expected to debate the immigration enforcement report in the coming weeks.