ActionSA is outraged by the escalating crisis of illegal immigration, with an astonishing R200 million wasted on deporting undocumented foreigners since 2022, while a dismal 83,731 have been deported — falling drastically short of the previous decade’s average of 133,000 deportations per year. This shocking disparity exposes the grim reality of our government’s incompetence in securing our borders and enforcing immigration laws.
In the last five months alone, only 19,000 illegal immigrants have been deported, despite South African taxpayers being burdened with the skyrocketing cost of deportation—an average of R2,700 per individual. This is a slap in the face to law-abiding citizens, as it reveals the devastating consequences of porous borders and a government unwilling or unable to enforce its own laws.
South Africans are not just footing the bill for deportations. The taxpayer is forced to absorb the cost of clothing, feeding, and housing illegal immigrants, even providing free healthcare to those who have brazenly violated our laws. To add insult to injury, South Africans are paying for foreign language interpreters in court when these immigrants stand trial for their crimes. This is a disgrace—these costs should be borne by the foreign missions of their home countries, not hard-working South Africans.
It is a national scandal that our government is spending R2,700 to deport an illegal immigrant while only allocating R2,180 for old-age pensions and a meagre R530 for child support grants. This reveals the government’s warped priorities — catering to those who break our laws while neglecting the needs of our most vulnerable citizens.
ActionSA demands an immediate halt to this gross abuse of taxpayer funds. It is unacceptable for South Africans to bear the financial brunt of the government’s failure to protect our borders and uphold our sovereignty. We refuse to accept the notion that South Africa should be an exception when it comes to enforcing international norms and standards on immigration.
ActionSA has officially written to the Minister of Home Affairs, requesting a commitment to recover all deportation costs unfairly imposed on South African taxpayers. We further call on the Minister of International Relations to issue a démarche to the heads of missions from the countries responsible for the majority of illegal immigrants entering South Africa and to put pressure on them to intervene and stop the flow of illegal immigration into our country.
Enough is enough—ActionSA will continue holding the grand coalition government accountable for failing to protect South African citizens and uphold our laws.
ActionSA Condemns Government’s Failure to Curb Illegal Immigration, Wasting Millions in Taxpayer Funds on Deportations
ActionSA is outraged by the escalating crisis of illegal immigration, with an astonishing R200 million wasted on deporting undocumented foreigners since 2022, while a dismal 83,731 have been deported — falling drastically short of the previous decade’s average of 133,000 deportations per year. This shocking disparity exposes the grim reality of our government’s incompetence in securing our borders and enforcing immigration laws.
In the last five months alone, only 19,000 illegal immigrants have been deported, despite South African taxpayers being burdened with the skyrocketing cost of deportation—an average of R2,700 per individual. This is a slap in the face to law-abiding citizens, as it reveals the devastating consequences of porous borders and a government unwilling or unable to enforce its own laws.
South Africans are not just footing the bill for deportations. The taxpayer is forced to absorb the cost of clothing, feeding, and housing illegal immigrants, even providing free healthcare to those who have brazenly violated our laws. To add insult to injury, South Africans are paying for foreign language interpreters in court when these immigrants stand trial for their crimes. This is a disgrace—these costs should be borne by the foreign missions of their home countries, not hard-working South Africans.
It is a national scandal that our government is spending R2,700 to deport an illegal immigrant while only allocating R2,180 for old-age pensions and a meagre R530 for child support grants. This reveals the government’s warped priorities — catering to those who break our laws while neglecting the needs of our most vulnerable citizens.
ActionSA demands an immediate halt to this gross abuse of taxpayer funds. It is unacceptable for South Africans to bear the financial brunt of the government’s failure to protect our borders and uphold our sovereignty. We refuse to accept the notion that South Africa should be an exception when it comes to enforcing international norms and standards on immigration.
ActionSA has officially written to the Minister of Home Affairs, requesting a commitment to recover all deportation costs unfairly imposed on South African taxpayers. We further call on the Minister of International Relations to issue a démarche to the heads of missions from the countries responsible for the majority of illegal immigrants entering South Africa and to put pressure on them to intervene and stop the flow of illegal immigration into our country.
Enough is enough—ActionSA will continue holding the grand coalition government accountable for failing to protect South African citizens and uphold our laws.