CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Thousands of African immigrants are leaving South Africa as anti-migrant sentiment intensifies, following a wave of attacks targeting foreign nationals.
The violence has unfolded alongside months of protests and marches led by anti-immigration groups. Those groups have set a June 30 deadline, demanding that people they describe as being in the country illegally leave South Africa and that the government respond more aggressively to what they claim is a growing illegal immigration problem in Africa’s largest economy.
If their demands are not met, the groups have warned they will stage what they are calling a “national shutdown.”
South African officials say they are preparing for potential unrest. The police minister said authorities are on high alert, with major demonstrations expected from anti-immigration groups on the deadline day.
At the same time, thousands of immigrants have sought refuge in temporary shelters, near embassies and in other locations, saying they fear further attacks. Some governments have started repatriating their citizens, while accusing South Africa of allowing a climate of xenophobia to grow.
Anti-immigration protests have escalated in recent months
Since March, demonstrations in several major cities have pushed immigration to the center of South Africa’s political debate. Protest organizers have blamed immigrants, without evidence, for the country’s high unemployment, pressure on public services and crime.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on television earlier this month in an effort to calm tensions. He said some protest groups were using the issue to serve their own political interests, stressing that “illegal immigration is not the cause of our social and economic difficulties.”
But Ramaphosa also conceded that there had been failures in South Africa’s border control.
As one of Africa’s richer countries, South Africa has long attracted migrants from elsewhere in Africa seeking a better life. The latest census figures from 2022 show there were 2.4 million foreign nationals who had immigrated in South Africa’s population of 62 million — less than 4% of the population.
Critics of the government say those figures do not count many others in South Africa without proper documents.
South Africa is already cracking down on immigration
While immigration becomes increasingly polarizing in the United States and Europe, Africa’s leading economy is also confronting the issue.
READ MORE: After New York Primary Wins, DSA Candidates Set Their Sights on Albany
In the last two years, South Africa has deported more than 100,000 people the home affairs ministry says were in the country illegally, while also stopping around 500,000 others at borders trying to enter without documents.
Those figures have strengthened the claims by anti-immigration groups of a larger problem.
Police are investigating attacks
Police are investigating recent attacks as anti-immigrant sentiment surges, including the killing of two Mozambicans in a small coastal town this month during unrest that also saw more than 50 homes set alight in an immigrant neighborhood, according to local authorities.
A Malawian man was allegedly stoned to death in another part of the country during anti-immigration protests last week, prompting another police investigation. Other attacks have been reported.
South Africa has a history of xenophobic violence as migrants from poor nations like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi generally end up settling in impoverished communities in South Africa where unemployment and frustrations are high.
A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres has said that Gutteres was “deeply concerned by reports of xenophobic attacks and acts of harassment and intimidation against migrants and foreign nationals in parts of South Africa.”
There is a history of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa
In 2008, more than 60 people — both South Africans and foreign nationals — were killed in a wave of anti-immigrant violence that spread from the biggest city of Johannesburg. There have been intermittent outbursts of violence against immigrants since then.
The latest tensions have led to strong criticism of South Africa by several African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique, who say their citizens are being targeted.
Migrants say they are leaving out of fear
Thousands of migrants have also left South Africa as tensions rise ahead of the June 30 deadline set by protesters.
Nigeria and Ghana have repatriated nearly 2,000 people on government-sponsored flights, citing concerns over their safety, and say there will be more evacuations. Zimbabwe and Mozambique have also repatriated smaller numbers of people.
Around 10,000 Malawians had gathered at a temporary shelter in the eastern city of Durban last week trying to return home. More than 8,000 of them have since left the country on buses provided by the Malawian government or private sponsors, but others continue to gather.
South African authorities said they helped facilitate the repatriation of Malawian citizens, but they also formally deported many of them for not having documents to live in South Africa.
