Illegal aliens to be deported
‘The foreign nationals have shown to be more reliable’
HOME Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba says the 25 undocumented foreign nationals detained following a raid at businesses at China Town, Sable Square and popular restaurants at Century City will be charged and deported.
Tip-offs about alleged breaches in the immigration and labour laws led to the raid by the department’s immigration inspectors in a joint operation with the Department of Labour and police.
Gigaba said the initiative stemmed from discussions with various business sectors in 2015/16 regarding the flouting of immigration laws and would be intensified despite financial constraints.
“There were violations found within the tourism, hospitality, retail, construction and especially the farming sector where non-South Africans were given work without papers.
“Employers were undermining immigration and labour laws as they paid workers starvation wages and we will be intensifying operations to ensure that all sectors throughout SA comply with the law,” said Gigaba.
He said the initiative was a way to ensure the immigration law, which states 60% of employees must be South Africans, was adhered to as well as the national minimum wage being applied.
A store owner from China Town, who asked that her name be withheld, said the raids were stressful and made them feel like criminals.
“I have hired locals but they disappear for days and when we fire them, the officials tell us we are wrong.
“The foreign nationals have shown to be more reliable and we hire them, but we are not sure what the documentation must be and when they expire, and cannot be held responsible for that,” she said.
Civil rights group Sonke Gender Justice Policy Development and advocacy specialist Marike Keller said: “Operations deliberately cracking down on undocumented migrants, particularly in a city where there is no Refugee Reception Office (RRO) available to provide new asylum seekers with documentation, is excessive and deeply unfair.
“The fact that the RRO in Cape Town is still closed, despite the Supreme Court of Appeal ordering the department to reopen, means many asylum seekers have to travel great distances every one to six months to apply for and renew their permits.”
She said the high costs and dangers associated with this frequent travel often resulted in permits expiring and asylum seekers inadvertently becoming undocumented, and resources should rather be spent on providing effective and efficient services to asylum seekers and refugees.