Cape Town – Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has highlighted the challenge of not being able to determine the number of undocumented migrants in the country.
Motsoaledi briefed the media on Sunday on the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration, and Refugee Protection.
He spoke about the lack of a mechanism to track illegal migrants in the country and suggested that the establishment of the Border Management Authority (BMA) could help address this issue.
[WATCH] ‘Section 2 of the Refugees Act says no one must be refused entry into SA, tell me any country that is acting like that?- Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi proposing changes to immigration laws. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/a3iJtfGEYX
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) November 12, 2023
“South Africa today is a great place to live in, even though some South Africans don’t believe this. No one can account for all the undocumented migrants. The Department of Home Affairs has no idea as to how many illegal migrants are in South Africa here,” he said.
He clarified that the goal was not to prevent people from entering the country but to ensure they did so legally.
“All we are doing is, people must come into the country legally. Our problem here is illegality. The Border Management Authority Act must be reviewed so that we align it with Immigration, Citizenship Act as a new policy framework, because they were all passed differently at different times, without referral to each other.”
Motsoaledi says home affairs deport more than 15,000 immigrants: Home affairs department minister Aaron Motsoaledi said they deported between 15,000 to 20,000 undocumented immigrants per year. https://t.co/juRwpbReKR
— SA Breaking News (@SABreakingNews) November 12, 2023
South Africa is overhauling its immigration and citizenship legislation. The white paper draft policy proposes the integration of border management and immigration Acts. Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi held a media briefing on the draft policy earlier. #DStv403 pic.twitter.com/gezIMmgSBI
— eNCA (@eNCA) November 12, 2023
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: X/@SAgovnews
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
