South Africa has deported or repatriated more than 53,000 undocumented foreign nationals in the past five weeks as part of an intensified migration enforcement campaign. Officials say most of the deportees were from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, adding that operations would continue while respecting human rights and the rule of law. The crackdown follows weeks of anti-immigration protests, during which demonstrators blamed undocumented migrants for unemployment, crime, and pressure on public services. The protesters had set an unofficial June 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave, prompting several nations, including Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya, to fly their citizens home. While President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged public concerns over illegal immigration, he has condemned vigilante violence and urged citizens not to take the law into their own hands.
BBC