South Africa ramps up deportation of undocumented migrants

Transcript

00:00The South African government is pushing to deport more undocumented migrants, who it

00:11claims compete with citizens for jobs in an economy with one of the highest unemployment

00:17rates.

00:18With the continent's most industrialized economy, there's a constant influx of job seekers

00:25from other countries.

00:26According to the United Nations Human Refugee Agency, the large number of migrants who are

00:32driven by economic hardship and political instability in their home countries places

00:38a strain on South Africa's resources.

00:41One immigration lawyer says in most instances, the narrative that undocumented migrants are

00:46taking the jobs of the locals is not always true.

00:50On the ground, the perception is always that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away.

00:57Now, there is a problem because there are certain kinds of people that are actually legal but

01:03deemed illegal immigrants.

01:05For example, asylum seekers.

01:07That process, according to Treasury, would take 63 years to resolve.

01:13And so these people are here, they're not taking jobs in many instances.

01:17They could be.

01:19But a lot of them are entrepreneurs.

01:21They open their own businesses.

01:23They employ people, et cetera.

01:25ASOP admits that a number of South African companies do employ undocumented immigrants.

01:30And now the South African government has increased workplace inspections to crack down on the practice.

01:36South Africa now has very, very stringent work permit routes in terms of the Immigration Act.

01:46That impacts on the number of foreigners that can be employed.

01:49In fact, the Department of Labor is also working on various documentation that will determine

01:55the number of total people that you can employ.

01:59Citizens and immigrants have varying views on the issue.

02:02I'm a Congolese permanent resident in South Africa.

02:06And what I think about this is that the people are already here.

02:11And the best thing to do is to document them and text them.

02:14And then the government won't feel their weight as much.

02:16Personally, I think it's a little bit too little too late.

02:20I think the situation has gone a haywire since I'd say the end of apartheid because a lot of

02:29undocumented people have made it into our system.

02:31Whoever is here illegally, they need to go back to where they come from and then come back

02:35only when they've established their legal status to be in the country.

02:39To date, South Africa has spent about 81 million rand or $4.7 million in deporting undocumented

02:47migrants.

02:48And now they have to decide on the federal, perhaps, who are going to have to die under the

03:06vl a дirt.

03:06Sometimes it's kinda low as I said.

03:07And for the loans related.