A total of 8,896 foreign nationals have been arrested nationwide in the past 14 days for contravening the Immigration Act.
Police spokesperson Lt-Col Amanda van Wyk said these figures are disclosed “to reflect government’s commitment to deal decisively with illegal immigration and related offences across the country”.
The operations are being carried out by police, in collaboration with officials from home affairs and border management.
Just last week, multiple operations conducted across Gauteng province resulted in the arrest of more than 800 undocumented foreign nationals, Van Wyk said. In one of the operations, in Westonaria, 217 alleged illegal miners were apprehended.
The sweeps are also netting suspects wanted for violent crimes, including murder and rape, she said.
Simultaneously, police issued a warning against any intimidation and harassment of foreign nationals.
“Violence, whether perpetrated by South Africans or foreign nationals, destroys communities, erodes trust, and will never be tolerated as a solution to resolve disputes. We urge communities to not take matters into their own hands. Our men and women in blue are hard at work in arresting those who contravene the laws of our country,” said acting national commissioner Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane.
Only authorised law enforcement officials may conduct inspections and verify the legal status of individuals within South Africa. Acts of intimidation, vigilantism or violence will be met with decisive action, she said.
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