Ramaphosa cracks down on 'illegal immigration' as anti-foreigner protests spread across South Africa

As anti-foreigner protests have spread across the country in recent days, with flare-ups in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised a tough government response to migration issues, cautioning against xenophobia and vigilantism.

According to reports, on Tuesday, June 2, protesters in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng targeted the homes of foreigners in Cloverdine and Chief Albert Luthuli. news24. In Ladysmith, KZN, hundreds of protesters marched Walked through the streets and visited shops and called on the government to take action against illegal migration.

Speaking during the presidency budget vote in parliament on Tuesday, Ramaphosa outlined the government's plans to strengthen immigration enforcement.

“As we work to build a safer, more stable and more prosperous society, we need to address the challenge of migration. When well managed and regulated, migration can help drive growth and increase opportunities for South Africans.

Ramaphosa said, “However, we need to tackle illegal migration. We have seen how illegal immigration can put pressure on our public services and undermine our efforts to deliver decent work.”

The president's comments come as surveys show anti-foreign sentiment continues to rise. At the same time, March and groups like March continue to gain popularity and pressure the government to take a tougher stance on immigration.

Many groups have raised concerns that anti-foreigner movements and protests, which focus on complaints over unemployment, crime and overcrowded public services, could have deadly consequences, as seen in several xenophobic outbursts since the 2008 attacks, which killed 62 people.

Nlamulo Sambo, 18, was murdered in Mossel Bay last week. On the same day, violent anti-foreigner demonstrations took place in the area. Sambo Giani was a South African citizen from Limpopo.

*Although his family says he was targeted after thinking he was a foreign national, preliminary police investigations have found no evidence linking his death to the protests. Police say Sambo was allegedly murdered during a separate criminal incident related to an attempted burglary at a cottage.

On 26 May in Mangaung, Free State, Protestors looted shops in anti-foreigner marchWhich resulted in 140 arrests. On 29 May, anti-foreigner protesters looted shops in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal.

“We are cracking down on violations of immigration laws,” Ramaphosa said in parliament on Tuesday. “We are increasing workplace inspections and prosecuting employers who violate our labor laws. We are strengthening border security, rooting out corruption in the immigration system and closing loopholes in broken immigration laws.”

Acknowledging stricter immigration enforcement, he insisted, “Every person in South Africa – whether they are citizens or foreign nationals – must respect our laws, and the rights of every person in our country must be upheld. We must never succumb to violence, xenophobia or vigilantism.”

The President said, “As a society, we must stand up against all forms of disinformation, incitement, racism and ethnic mobilization. We will strengthen and enforce our laws while upholding the Constitution and the human dignity of all. This will enable us to tackle illegal immigration without turning against each other.”

Anti-foreigner sentiment reaches new heights

According to opinion data recently released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), anti-foreigner sentiment has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 42% of respondents now saying they would not welcome any immigrants to the country.

“South African Social Attitudes Survey data shows that the South African public, which already displayed relatively unfavorable attitudes towards foreign nationals, has become significantly more hostile towards immigrants over the past five years. In fact, the data shows that the level of hostility towards immigrants recorded in 2025 is the highest seen since the beginning of the measurement in 2003.” Said HSRC in May

“One reason for this increase in hostility in recent years is that immigrants are increasingly seen as an economic threat. Additional analysis confirms that South Africans are more likely to associate immigrants with crime and economic competition in 2025.

“For example, in 2025, 77% of the public agreed that immigrants increase crime rates; this figure is 13 percentage points higher than the level recorded in 2018.”

Human Rights Watch researcher Nomathamasanka Masiko-Mpaka recently commented“The Constitution of South Africa and international human rights law protect the right to protest, but this does not include permission to use violence.”

“South African authorities must step up efforts to address anti-immigrant sentiment and violence to ensure the safety of foreign nationals at risk in the country,” Masiko-Mpaka added. “Vigilante groups need to be held fully accountable, including through effective criminal prosecutions.”

Last week, around 300 Ghanaians fled the country Boarding a repatriation flight organized by the government of Ghana, as a result of rising xenophobic tensions and violence in South Africa. SA officials told Daily Maverick that out of the 300 Ghanaians who boarded the flight on Wednesday, only 10 were properly documented.

transfer to number

population

The Statistics SA report on migration statistics based on the 2022/23 Income and Expenditure Survey (IES) revealed that the population of international migrants was 3.1 million people Or about 5.1% of the total population. About 56.2% of immigrants are male and 43.8% are female.

Most immigrants come from SADC countries, which account for 63.4% of the immigrant population. About 25.4% came from the rest of Africa and 11.4% from outside Africa. near gauteng highest population Immigrants account for 51.2%, followed by the Western Cape at 13.3%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 7%.

basic education

According to the Basic Education Department, in 2025 253,618 foreign-born schoolchildren and 3,240 foreign-born school teachers. The total number of children recorded on the Learner Unit Record Information and Tracking System (LURITS) for the year was 13,596,869which means representation of foreign-born children only 1.87% Of total public school enrolment.

The IES 2022/2023 revealed that migrant children were less likely to be enrolled in educational programs. About this 52.1% immigrant children 32.9% of the population of South African origin were not enrolled in any ECD programme. among immigrants, 23.4% did not Compared to only 5.3% of South Africans go to educational institutions.

higher education

In 2023, the total number of foreign students enrolled in higher education institutions was 39,843, indicating 3.7% of total enrollment Which according to the data of Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) was 1,071,715. Over a third of international students were from Zimbabwe (35.5%), followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (6.7%) and then Namibia (6.06%).

There were slightly more international students enrolled in private higher education institutions. A total of 15,965 international students were enrolled, representing 5.6% Of total student enrolment.

In a parliamentary reply published in February 2026, DHET confirmed that foreign workers made up 7.74% of the total post-school education workforce as per 2024 data. About 82.89% of these staff members worked as instructional or research professionals, while the remainder held technical, support and administrative positions. Section 38 of the Immigration Act (Act 13 of 2002).) Prohibits institutions from hiring undocumented workers.

employment

The most recent Statistics SA data looking at immigrant employment rates is found to be in 2023 Migration Profile Report for South Africa. In 2022, unemployment rate The share for immigrants in the third quarter was 18.2%, their labor force absorption rate was 64%, and their labor force participation rate was 78.3%. Immigrants were 8.9% of the total workforce, above 6% In the third quarter of 2012.

In comparison, national unemployment rate For the same time period the labor force absorption rate was 32.9%, the labor force absorption rate was 39.1% and the labor force participation rate was 58.3%.

Most of the immigrant workers were found working in private homes (18.4%), followed by construction (17.2%) and retail (13.6%).

prison population

South African prisons are overcrowded. The nationally approved bed space in prisons is 107346. Nevertheless, in a parliamentary reply to Build One South Africa in September 2025, the department stated that the total prison population was 167,000 A total of 107,456 have been sentenced and another 59,887 are awaiting sentencing.

according to 2024 figures According to the Department of Correctional Services, the prison population of convicted and unconvicted foreign nationals was 18,000, which is approximately 11% of the incarcerated population. according to 2025 figuresForeign nationals constituted 12.4% of the total convicted prisoner population, which is equivalent to 12,676 people.

spaza shop ownership

It is difficult to obtain accurate statistics of spaza shop owners due to the number of unregistered shops. A study of 2023 The demographics of spaza shop ownership found that the majority of owners were Somali nationals at 58%, followed by Ethiopian nationals at 25%. south africans made the bus 8% spaza shop owners.

next comprehensive report In view of contaminated food being sold in spaza shops, the Department of Cooperative Governance launched a nationwide spaza shop registration drive. Between July 2024 and January 2025, municipalities across the country 82,924 spaza shops received Registration applications and of these, about 37% were submitted by foreign nationals (30,617). Out of 15,528 applications accepted during the period under review, 2,586 applications were given to foreign nationals, which is 17%.

15 million illegal immigrants?

There are currently no reliable statistics on the number of irregular or illegal immigrants living in South Africa due to difficulties in tracking irregular movements and collecting reliable data. However, several political parties, including ActionSA, have claimed that 15 million people Living in the country illegally. This was a misinterpretation of the available data, which ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has since defended publicly accepted.

Fact-checking organization Africa Check is owned by Since the claim has been rejectedIts origins can be traced to 2018 data from the World Bank. However, this World Bank data looked at all South Africans who lack legal identity documents and also includes South African citizens. The Home Department has also distanced itself from this claim. DM