Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi. Photo Credit: GCIS

NNA News - South Africa's intensified immigration enforcement and planned anti-undocumented migration protests are placing renewed attention on Zimbabweans living and working in the country, amid rising deportations and growing costs associated with enforcing immigration laws. This report is compiled by ZimNow.

Anti-immigration group March and March is planning protests for 30 September, following similar demonstrations on 30 June. The planned action comes as South African authorities continue operations targeting undocumented migration, fraudulent documentation, human trafficking, illegal border crossings and other offences. The developments have particular implications for Zimbabwe, whose nationals make up a significant part of the migrant population in South Africa and include people with different immigration statuses.

Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration chairperson Mmamoloko Kubayi said authorities had registered 205 cases, arrested 354 people and placed 123 cases on the court roll as part of ongoing enforcement operations.“From our case management point of view, we are pleased to report that to date, 205 cases have been registered, with 354 persons arrested and 123 cases on the court roll,” Kubayi said.

The enforcement measures extend beyond arrests and prosecutions to the detention, repatriation and deportation of people found to be in the country unlawfully. South Africa deported 59,814 undocumented migrants during the 2025/26 financial year, compared with 51,650 in 2024/25, according to the figures cited in the report. The combined cost of the two years of deportations exceeded R175 million. Zimbabweans were among the nationalities deported, alongside nationals from countries including Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, South Sudan, China, Cameroon and Iran.

South African police officers stand behind a security cordon as a large group of people sit outside a building during an immigration enforcement operation. Photo Credit: IOL

The Border Management Authority separately facilitated the repatriation of 89,936 people through ports of entry between May and August, while 9,997 people were deported between April and July. By 18 August, the Department of Home Affairs had incurred more than R341 million in expenditure associated with immigration enforcement and repatriation activities, while the Border Management Authority had incurred a further R3.6 million. The figures illustrate the resources required to identify, process, detain and return undocumented migrants, beyond the direct cost of policing operations.

The planned September protests are also raising questions about the cost of policing. South Africa allocated R600 million for policing and security operations surrounding the 30 June anti-undocumented migration protests. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia later told Parliament that the South African Police Service had incurred approximately R306.2 million in expenditure related to those deployments, with outstanding claims for reservists, overtime and travel still being processed. National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure chairperson Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili said no separate budget would be created for the September action. “There will be no specific budget. We work on the budget allocated on the baseline,” Mosikili said.

SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the eventual scale and cost of the September deployment would depend on security assessments closer to the event. “Operational requirements and resource deployments are informed by ongoing threat and risk assessments, intelligence, the nature and scale of planned activities, and the prevailing circumstances closer to the event,” Mathe said.

The debate has also raised concerns about the diversion of police resources from routine law enforcement. Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police chairperson Ian Cameron said repeated deployments to protests could place additional pressure on an already constrained police service. “Above all, the SAPS is constantly complaining about a lack of resources, and the continued diversion of scarce resources for ad hoc events has a direct impact on the planned programmes of the service,” Cameron said.

For Zimbabweans, the issue extends beyond the policing of protests. Increased immigration enforcement could result in more people being detained and deported, particularly where individuals cannot demonstrate lawful status. Deportations can also create challenges for Zimbabwe when people return without stable employment, savings or the documentation required to re-enter the formal economy. At the same time, migration remains closely connected to the economies of both countries. Zimbabweans work across sectors in South Africa, including agriculture, construction, domestic work, hospitality and retail, while immigration has become a politically sensitive issue amid South Africa's unemployment and public-service pressures.

The planned protests have added to that political pressure. Matthew George, national communications director of ActionSA, said citizens had a constitutional right to protest over what they considered government failures. “South Africans are rightly frustrated by the government’s failure to secure its borders and enforce its immigration regulations,” George said.

The debate has consequently brought together several competing concerns: South Africa's responsibility to enforce its immigration laws, pressure on police and government resources, the economic contribution of migrant workers and the consequences of deportations for neighbouring countries.

For Zimbabwe, the developments highlight the cross-border consequences of South Africa's migration policies, particularly as Pretoria prepares for another large-scale policing operation on 30 September.