Overview
- The government’s Inter‑Ministerial Committee reported more than 40,000 arrests for immigration contraventions since January 2026, including over 7,400 in the past month as operations were stepped up.
- Officials said 2,745 foreign nationals were repatriated in the week following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s June 7 address on migration, and the figure is still changing as buses and flights continue.
- Operational moves include Border Management Authority drones and body‑worn cameras, roadblocks at key corridors such as Beit Bridge, plans for priority courts at Lindela and OR Tambo, and a shift toward biometric smart IDs.
- Campaigners calling for undocumented migrants to leave by June 30 have raised fears of mass action, and security agencies are monitoring intelligence while ministers warn citizens not to conduct identity checks or take enforcement into their own hands.
- Neighbouring governments are organising repatriation buses and flights for their citizens, casualty counts from recent attacks remain disputed, and the IMC says manipulated videos and disinformation are fuelling tension and harming South Africa’s diplomacy.