The Department of Home Affairs says it has deported 109,344 undocumented foreign nationals over the past two financial years.
Image: HENK KRUGER Independent Newspapers
The Department of Home Affairs has revealed that it has deported 109,344 undocumented foreign nationals over the past two financial years.
The department said that in a media statement on Thursday.
It said the deportations marked an exponential increase in annual deportations since the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
The GNU was formed after the May 2024 general elections.
“This marked increase in law enforcement against immigration violations demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Home Affairs and our partners in law enforcement to restoring the rule of law.”
The department said during the first year of the current administration, the number of deportations increased by 30%, from 39 672 in 2023 and 2024 to 51 560 in 2024 and 2025.
“This was followed by a further annual increase of 12%, to 57 784, in 2025/26. Over the past two financial years, deportations have surged by a cumulative 46%, totalling 109 344 by 31 March 2026,” it said.
According to Home Affairs minister, Dr Leon Schreiber, the numbers show that the department is now reaping the fruits of reforms focused on greater efficiency and intensified enforcement against immigration violators.
“Through ongoing campaigns like Operation New Broom, as well (as) the increasing use of biometric verification tools, we have already increased deportations by 46%.”
“Our message remains clear: If you are in South Africa illegally, self-deport now before we find you and ban you from ever entering our country legally in future.”
He said while enforcement efforts are clearly yielding fruit and scaling up every year, the department remains equally focused on deterrence and modernisation.
“The deployment of drone and body camera technology has already made a difference, while the impending scale-up of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system will record biometrics for every foreigner who enters our country, dramatically enhancing our ability to detect and arrest anyone who is in South Africa illegally.”
IOL News previously reported that the Border Management Authority (BMA) Commissioner, Dr Michael Masiapato, said South Africa’s neighboring countries - like Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Lesotho - were not doing enough to curb illegal immigration, arguing that the issue doesn’t affect them directly.
He said South Africa was bearing the brunt of illegal migration and that its neighbours were not committing enough resources to address the problem.
South Africa shares borders with countries including Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
However, its borders have long faced challenges such as illegal migration, cross-border crime and delays at ports of entry, issues exacerbated by porous borders, corruption and aging infrastructure.
On Wednesday, IOL News reported that Masiapato has confirmed that the deployment of advanced technology at South Africa’s busiest land crossings has been “very positive,” helping to monitor and manage the movement of people during the Easter operations.
This comes after thousands of people were intercepted attempting to cross illegally into South Africa at the Beitbridge border post.
Masiapato said the authority’s use of drones and amphibian vehicles has had a clear deterrent effect.
He provided detailed figures on the daily flow of travellers, highlighting the scale of operations across key border posts.
“If you were to look at the numbers, over the last 24 hours, OR Tambo still led with around 25,000. Lebombo and another top port processed around 25,700 individuals each.
''From there, Beitbridge handled around 21,000, while other ports like Ficksburg Bridge and Maseru Bridge recorded around 18,000. These are the kind of numbers we have actually processed in the last 24 hours,” he explained.
The commissioner said the data reflects the success of the authority’s festive season operations.
“We are very much confident that we’ve been able to do what we’re supposed to do in terms of this operation.
''We will aggregate all the figures as we close the operation officially on Thursday, April 9, and we should be able to then give a full report back in terms of how everything had unfolded,” Masiapato added.
IOL Politics