South African police arrest 127 foreign nationals during anti-immigration protests
South African police have arrested 127 foreign nationals during a wave of anti-immigration protests across the country, according to the BBC. The Department of Home Affairs has said it plans to deport dozens of undocumented foreigners identified during the operation.
The arrests come amid growing public anger over immigration, an issue that has periodically surfaced in South African politics and public discourse for decades. Anti-foreigner sentiment has flared in various parts of the country in past years, with some communities blaming migrant workers and traders for unemployment, crime and competition in informal markets.
South Africa is one of the continent’s largest destinations for economic migrants, particularly from neighbouring states such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Malawi, as well as from further afield including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Successive governments have struggled to balance porous borders with demand for labour in sectors such as mining, agriculture and domestic work, while also managing a long-standing asylum system that has faced significant backlogs.
Home Affairs and deportation policy
The Department of Home Affairs is the government body responsible for immigration enforcement, including the issuing of visas, asylum decisions and the removal of undocumented foreigners. South Africa’s immigration legislation allows authorities to detain and deport people found to be in the country without legal status, though deportations have long drawn criticism from rights groups over delays, poor detention conditions and limited access to legal representation.
According to the BBC, the latest arrests followed protests in which demonstrators demanded tougher action against undocumented migrants. The Home Affairs department indicated that those found without valid documentation would be processed for removal from South Africa.
Sources
This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.
