SA deported 600k migrants since 2023, but concerns grow over wrongful arrests

South Africa has deported more than 600,000 people since 2023 for illegal entry and inland immigration violations, according to the Department of Home Affairs. Still, fresh concerns are emerging that legal migrants may be caught up in the system.

Immigration expert and legal counsel for the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit Association, Advocate Simba Chitando, says while there is broad support for tackling illegal migration, enforcement failures are leading to wrongful detentions and deportations.

R600bn border upgrade and migration crackdown

Home Affairs recently announced a R12.5 billion investment to upgrade six of the country’s busiest land border posts, including Beitbridge, Lebombo and Maseru Bridge.

The upgrades form part of efforts to tighten border controls and reduce illegal migration into South Africa.

The department says deportations, both at the border and within the country, have exceeded 600,000 cases since 2023.

Legal migrants ‘wrongfully targeted’

Chitando said his association does not oppose action against illegal migration but warned that legal migrants are being caught in enforcement operations.

“The system is not perfect,” he said.

He added that some individuals lawfully in South Africa have been detained or deported due to administrative failures.

Chitando pointed to cases where legal migrants, including permit holders, were incorrectly treated as undocumented.

“There are cases where people have been deported unlawfully,” he said.

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‘System does not work properly’

Chitando described the immigration enforcement system as flawed, particularly at ports of entry such as airports.

He said in many cases, people detained at airports are later found to be in the country legally.

“95% of the clients that have come to me… have been detained wrongfully,” he said.

He added that all those clients were eventually released, raising questions about how many similar cases may not be challenged.

No clear figure on wrongful deportations

Despite the concerns, Chitando said it is not possible to estimate how many of the 600,000 deportations involved legal migrants.

“These matters have to be taken case by case,” he said.

However, he warned that given known system failures, a “significant number” of deportations could have been unlawful.

Calls for better systems and oversight

Chitando said there is currently limited engagement between migrant advocacy groups and authorities such as Home Affairs and the Border Management Authority.

He said most interventions only happen after individuals are detained and legal action is taken.

The concerns come as immigration enforcement remains a key issue in South Africa, with public pressure mounting for tighter border control, alongside growing scrutiny over how migration laws are applied.

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