Five things you need to know about the planned crackdown on illegal migration

The government is set to expedite major interventions announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa a week ago to deal with illegal immigration and acts of vigilantism.

On Sunday, the interministerial committee (IMC) on migration outlined measures taken to oversee the implementation of plans announced by Ramaphosa.

These include strengthening border security, maintaining the rule of law, stamping out corruption in the immigration system and cracking down on violence and lawlessness.

Here are five things you need to know about what is being done so far:

• The government says there has been heightened vigilance across all ports of entry in all three modalities of land, air and sea. This was demonstrated by the recent interception of nine Bangladeshis at OR Tambo International Airport who attempted to enter South Africa with fraudulent visas.
• Inspections have been carried out since June 3 in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, where foreigners were arrested for immigration-related contraventions. In the past month, more than 7,400 undocumented immigrants have been arrested by the SAPS for contravening the Immigration Act.
• The re-establishment of a court at the Lindela Repatriation Centre will be expedited to ensure smooth deportations of undocumented migrants. Another specialised court at OR Tambo International Airport will speed up immigration-related cases.
• The department of international relations and co-operation will engage Southern African Development Community nations and the foreign ministries of affected countries to co-ordinate repatriation protocols.
• The IMC will hold meetings starting on Monday with Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 institutions and on Wednesday with the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders to address ongoing protests and tensions over illegal immigration.

Sowetan