South Africa Should Document, Not Deport, Illegal Immigrants - Hopewell Chin'ono
Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono suggests that South Africa should document illegal immigrants as a long-term solution to immigration problems, rather than deporting them.
This recommendation follows a statement by South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber, who revealed that 19,750 undocumented immigrants were deported, costing the government R52,817,656 (US$2,995,289.27).
Since January 2022, South Africa has spent almost R200 million on deporting 83,731 illegal immigrants.
Speaking to TimesLive, Chin’ono described this expenditure as a “waste of money,” arguing that deported immigrants are likely to return to South Africa.
He suggested that documenting illegal immigrants could address various issues, including unemployment.
This is despite complaints from South Africans about foreigners “taking their jobs,” often due to companies exploiting undocumented workers for cheap labour. Said Chin’ono:
The only way out, to help South African workers who refuse to work for a pittance in restaurants, and rightly so, is to legalise those already in South Africa so the authorities know who they are.
Implement regulations ensuring these workers can be employed and pay taxes, but also make sure jobs must be offered to South Africans first. They do that in Zimbabwe with the few jobs available, and that is standard practice the world over.
Where no South African is willing to take up the job, it can be offered to a documented migrant who will be paying taxes.
When illegal immigrants are documented and have bank accounts they will begin to pay taxes and can also become entrepreneurial, creating businesses that will employ more South Africans and contribute to economic growth.
Chin’ono added that documenting illegal immigrants and gathering their biometric data would also reduce crime, as undocumented immigrants could commit crimes without being identified.
He criticized South African politicians for using the issue to win votes without offering practical solutions.
Chin’ono reiterated that documenting immigrants would facilitate better border control and provide a comprehensive approach to managing immigration. Said Chin’ono:
These illegal immigrants are deported on a Monday and by Friday they are back. This is known as the revolving door.
The border officials are so corrupt they facilitate this revolving door because they profit from it, so you cannot use immigration control to deal with this on land borders where people come by road.
Some illegal immigrants do not even leave South Africa because the police who arrest them will also accept bribes.
Refusing to document illegals, hoping deportations will solve the problem demonstrates incompetence and ignorance about how illegal immigration works.
It is easy to control the border when you have cleaned up the existing problem. It requires men and women in leadership with a spine.
Zimbabwe tops the list of countries with illegal immigrants in South Africa, with more than 7,000 Zimbabweans deported in 2022/2023.
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