South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced sweeping new measures to address illegal migration, amid rising public tension, anti-foreigner protests and fears of renewed xenophobic violence in the country.
In a national address, Ramaphosa said his government would tighten immigration enforcement, strengthen border controls, tackle corruption in the immigration system and introduce tougher penalties for employers who hire undocumented migrants.
The President also announced plans to establish dedicated courts to speed up the deportation of undocumented migrants, relocate refugee reception centres to border posts, and build a national biometric register for all persons in the country as part of efforts to curb identity theft and document fraud.
Ramaphosa, however, warned citizens and anti-migrant groups against taking the law into their own hands, stressing that only authorised government officials have the legal power to enforce immigration laws.
The announcement comes as several African countries have reportedly begun arranging the evacuation of some of their nationals from South Africa following threats, intimidation and growing fears of violence.
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