By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider
Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber has noted that the numbers of deportation demonstrated from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) reflect the commitment to maintaining the rule of law.
They revealed on Thursday that since the Government of National Unity (GNU) formed deportation of illegal immigrants currently sit at 109,344 deportations as this signifies a 46% increase over the last two years.
The GNU administration increased deportations by 30%, from 39,672 in the 2023/24 financial year to 51,560 in 2024/25.
“These numbers show that we are now reaping the fruits of reforms focused on greater efficiency and intensified enforcement against immigration violators. Through ongoing campaigns like Operation New Broom, as well the increasing use of biometric verification tools, we have already increased deportations by 46%. Our message remains clear: If you are in South Africa illegally, self-deport now before we find you and ban you from ever entering our country legally in future” said Schreiber.
The department has also shifted their focus on deterrence and modernisation in order to combat illegal immigration, as Schreiber has emphasised on the use of drones and body cameras and to also improve the Electronic Travel Authorisation system to efficiently read biometric travellers.
“While enforcement efforts are clearly yielding fruit and scaling up every year, we remain equally focused on deterrence and modernisation. The deployment of drone and body camera technology has already made a difference, while the impending scale-up of the Electronic Travel Authorisation system will record biometrics for every foreigner who enters our country, dramatically enhancing our ability to detect and arrest anyone who is in South Africa illegally” said Schreiber upon elaboration.
According to Statistics South Africa, immigrants make up for almost three million people as estimates have stated that between 500,000 and one million may be in South Africa illegally.
Today the Minister joined law enforcement this morning in Sandton under the Operation New Broom as many immigrants were arrested in order to be deported as law enforcement continue to demonstrate their dedication to upholding the law.
“South Africa is one of now with more focus on this, one of the biggest implementers of deportations in the world. So, obviously, it is a symptom of a broader problem. When it comes to costs I don’t have the exact figure but the last time I checked I think it was under R2000 on average per deportation.” said Schreiber when speaking to Radio702.