Order at the border: Illegal migration and the South African state’s responsibility

South Africa’s debate on migration has become one of the most emotionally charged public conversations in recent years. Yet beneath the political rhetoric and social tension lies a deeper question that the country has not fully confronted: whether the South African state has the institutional capacity to manage migration in an orderly, lawful and humane manner.

Too often, the issue is framed in extremes. On one side, any discussion about illegal migration is quickly labelled xenophobic. On the other hand, anger about service delivery and unemployment is sometimes directed indiscriminately at foreign nationals. Both responses miss the central issue.

Migration management, in any functioning state, requires strong administrative systems, clear policy direction and capable institutions. It requires efficient documentation processes, credible border management and cooperation between law enforcement, immigration authorities and regional partners. When these systems weaken, disorder replaces management.

South Africa’s migration pressures must also be understood within a broader regional context. Economic instability, political crises and conflict in parts of the continent inevitably drive human movement. People move in search of safety, work and opportunity. That reality cannot be wished away.

However, unmanaged migration places strain on already stretched public systems. Schools, hospitals, housing programmes and policing services are under immense pressure. When the state fails to maintain clear and credible systems for entry, documentation and enforcement, the consequences are felt by everyone – migrants and citizens alike.

Migrants themselves often become the most vulnerable victims of this institutional weakness. Without proper documentation processes or legal pathways, many fall into informal economies where exploitation is common. Human trafficking networks thrive in precisely these conditions of weak governance.

For citizens, the visible breakdown of migration management feeds perceptions that the state has lost control of its borders and administrative systems. When the public begins to lose confidence in the state’s ability to regulate migration, social tensions inevitably rise.

This is why the migration question should not be reduced to slogans about borders or compassion. A responsible approach must recognise both realities: the dignity of migrants and the legitimate governance responsibilities of the state.

Compassion and the rule of law are not opposites. In fact, effective governance is what allows compassion to function in practice.

A state that cannot process asylum claims efficiently, issue permits within reasonable timeframes or enforce immigration law consistently ultimately fails both migrants and citizens. Administrative paralysis benefits no one except criminal syndicates that exploit the gaps.

South Africa therefore needs to shift the migration debate away from emotional polarisation and towards institutional reform.

Border management must be strengthened not only through physical infrastructure, but through intelligence-driven cooperation with neighbouring states. Migration documentation systems must become faster, more transparent and less vulnerable to corruption. Interdepartmental coordination between Home Affairs, law enforcement agencies and the justice system must improve significantly.

Equally important is ensuring that deportation processes for individuals who violate immigration laws operate within a clear legal framework while remaining efficient enough to maintain public confidence in the system.

None of these steps requires abandoning South Africa’s constitutional values. On the contrary, they are necessary to uphold them.

The Constitution affirms both human dignity and the rule of law. These principles must work together. A state that loses its ability to administer the law fairly and consistently ultimately weakens the very protections it promises.

The current migration pressures confronting South Africa are therefore not simply about who crosses the border. They are about whether the country can rebuild the administrative capacity required to manage migration responsibly in a complex regional environment.

If the conversation continues to be dominated by accusation and denial, the problem will deepen. But if South Africa approaches migration as a question of governance, institutional strength and regional cooperation, a more balanced and sustainable path may still be possible.

Migration will remain a feature of our globalised world. The real question is whether the South African state will build the systems capable of managing it with both firmness and fairness.

The answer to that question will shape not only migration policy, but public confidence in the state itself. DM

Busaphi Machi is the IFP deputy chief whip in the National Assembly and member of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs.