Caught between borders and diplomacy: South Africa's migration dilemma

A wave of anti-immigration protests sweeping South Africa has spilled across its borders, sending thousands fleeing home and straining relations with neighbors that South Africa has long courted as partners in African unity.

The protests, organized largely by two citizen groups, Operation Dudula and March and March, have spread since March through Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, and smaller towns.

Demonstrators accuse undocumented migrants of taking jobs, fueling crime, and overwhelming hospitals and schools.

Some marchers have set June 30 as a deadline for foreign nationals without papers to leave the country, and videos circulating on social media have warned of "bloodshed" if they do not. Authorities, however, have not imposed any such deadline.

Malawian maintenance worker employed at a small bridal boutique in Pretoria, who says his immigration documents are in order but requested anonymity, said he has begun avoiding public transport whenever possible.

"I am lucky because I do not have my family in the country, but I am constantly afraid whenever I have to take public transport to work," he said. "I am looking at finding alternative accommodation near my workplace as June 30 approaches, because I fear for my life."

Many South Africans backing the protests say their own frustrations have gone unaddressed for years. Zinzile Mazibuko said she sees foreign nationals filling hospital queues and taking jobs in sectors like hospitality and delivery work.

"You go to the hospital and find rows of people and the majority are foreign nationals, and then even employment opportunities — most salons, maid services and food delivery drivers are foreign nationals — because from what I have seen, they don't mind working for below the minimum wage," she said.

Ramaphosa's response

The unrest turned deadly in late May in Mossel Bay, a coastal town in Western Cape province. Mozambique's government said seven of its citizens died there — five in attacks it described as xenophobic, and two in a road accident as they tried to flee.

More than 800 Mozambican nationals were affected by the violence, with over 700 having since been repatriated, according to Mozambican officials. Diplomatic efforts are ongoing to facilitate the return of the remains of six citizens who lost their lives during the unrest.

The pressure pushed President Cyril Ramaphosa to address the nation earlier this month. He acknowledged failures in how migration has been policed. "There have been weaknesses in the way migration has been managed," he said, citing corruption and gaps in enforcement systems.

He announced a five-point plan that includes stepped-up deportations, dedicated immigration courts, tighter border technology, a biometric population register, and penalties for businesses that employ undocumented workers.

Ramaphosa also condemned vigilante action, warning that only government officials have the legal authority to demand proof of someone's immigration status. "We will not allow groups to use the legitimate concerns of South Africans to destabilize our country through inciting lawlessness and violence," he said.

What the protest groups say

Operation Dudula, founded in 2021 and now registered as a political party contesting this year's municipal elections, has framed its campaign as a response to state failure rather than hostility toward foreigners.

March and March, led by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, describes itself as a civic movement rather than a vigilante group. Ngobese-Zuma has said that undocumented migration is straining resources and placing pressure on cities, schools, hospitals and job markets. She has also called for stronger identification and immigration enforcement systems.

Both groups reject allegations that their marches have incited xenophobic violence, maintaining that their concerns are directed specifically at illegal immigration.

Diplomatic fallout

The violence has triggered consequences far beyond South Africa's borders.

Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi and Mozambique have all repatriated citizens or announced plans to do so. More than 7,000 Malawians took shelter in an open field in Durban this month after fleeing threats, while Nigeria flew home an initial group of 260 nationals and Ghana repatriated roughly 1,000. Zimbabwe and Kenya have urged their citizens still in South Africa to exercise caution.

Nigeria's government has gone further, with Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu arguing that the hostility is specifically directed at Black Africans and questioning whether "xenophobia" is the right term, suggesting that "Afriphobia" may be more accurate.

Ghana has pushed for the African Union to formally debate the violence at its Mid-Year Coordination Summit in Cairo from June 24 to 27, a request South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has called "regrettable."

DIRCO says it has taken steps to limit the diplomatic fallout. According to the department, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, has held discussions with his counterparts in Ghana and Nigeria, reaffirming South Africa's commitment to safeguarding the rights of foreign nationals. The department also emphasized that long-standing bilateral commissions remain the appropriate platform for addressing concerns and resolving the dispute.

The department further invoked the historic support African nations gave South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle.

'A failure of leadership'

International relations expert Dr. Kingsley Makhubela said the deeper issue lies not only in the protests themselves, but in the state's failure to curb the vigilante violence that has accompanied them.

"The biggest concern that you are hearing around the world is because of the vigilantes who have emerged here, who continue to harass people on the streets, ask them for identification and behave violently — that is the biggest concern," Makhubela said. "No one questions the authority of the South African government to enforce its immigration laws. However, the poor handling by South African authorities of the actions of some locals is what is damaging the country's reputation."

Makhubela argued the issue has become entangled with electoral politics, with parties across the spectrum using foreign nationals to deflect from their own record on service delivery — a pattern that, he said, the government had allowed to fester for years before finally addressing it following Ramaphosa's address.

He also pointed to South Africa's wider diplomatic isolation this year, including its exclusion from the US-hosted G20 and France's withdrawal of an invitation to the G7 summit under pressure from Washington, as context for why the country can ill afford to also be isolated within Africa.

"South Africa suddenly becomes almost like a pariah state, which is not what this country wants," he said, while questioning why some governments are quick to demand that the African Union take up this dispute when continental atrocities elsewhere, including post-election violence, have rarely drawn the same calls for action. He said South Africa bears responsibility regardless: "The South African authorities, as a whole, have the responsibility to provide security to anyone who is in the country, legally or illegally, as a responsibility of the state."

Makhubela said he was unconvinced the country's current leadership has risen to the moment, drawing a contrast with Nelson Mandela, who appealed for calm after his release from prison. "I would have expected the leadership during this time to rise to the occasion and plead for people to stop attacking foreign nationals," he said, adding that he doubts the government has the strategic capacity "to transcend some of these issues."

A separate, parallel dispute

The unrest comes as South Africa navigates a separate migration dispute with the United States. The Trump administration has expanded a refugee program for Afrikaners, white South Africans descended largely from Dutch settlers, citing what it describes as a humanitarian emergency linked to racially motivated violence.

Washington has raised its annual refugee cap by 10,000 slots reserved for white South Africans, even as it has scaled back the program for refugees from other countries. Roughly 6,000 South Africans have relocated to the U.S. under the initiative since it began last year.

The two disputes are unrelated in substance, but both have placed South Africa's foreign relations in the spotlight at a time when Pretoria is already managing challenges closer to home.

With the protest organizers' June 30 deadline approaching, it remains unclear whether Ramaphosa's enforcement measures will ease the unrest or whether further violence lies ahead.