Motsoaledi tables new Immigration Amendment Bill

CAPE TOWN - The Minister of Home Affairs has tabled a new bill in Parliament that will ensure foreign nationals are brought before court within 48 hours of an arrest for deportation.

The Immigration Amendment Bill comes in response to two Constitutional Court judgments on the rights of illegal foreign nationals, one dating back to 2017, that has until now still not been corrected in law.

However, because Parliament is currently on its constituency period ahead of May’s elections, this bill is only likely to be processed by the new administration.

In efforts to afford foreign nationals more rights in the arrest process, the bill provides for the arrested person to be informed upon arrest or immediately thereafter, of their legal rights. 

This includes the right to legal representation and the intention to deport them.

Last October, the Constitutional Court again declared parts of the principal act as inconsistent with the Constitution after the Home Affairs Minister missed a June 2019 deadline to fix it. 

The bill provides for the arrested foreign national to make representations to the court - which it must consider along with the representations of an immigration officer.

The bill also introduces the interest of justice criterion that spells out the processes that must be followed and the considerations that must be given when an illegal immigrant is arrested and detained for deportation.

Once the person has appeared in court, the court may order continued detention for 30 days. A court may not order subsequent detention for more than 90 days.

The arrested person must also be afforded the right to make representations on each of their appearances before court.