The writer argues that illegal immigration should be viewed not only as an immigration challenge but also as a matter of national security.
In the 2025/26 financial year, the Department of Home Affairs reportedly deported 57,784 people who were in South Africa illegally. That may sound significant until one considers estimates suggesting the total number of undocumented migrants in the country runs into the millions.
Even Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Njabulo Bheka Nzuza recently acknowledged that government does not know the exact number of undocumented migrants in South Africa. That admission should concern every South African. If we do not know who is in the country, or why they are here, it raises legitimate national security concerns.
When millions of undocumented migrants move across porous borders and settle in the country, the pressure extends beyond clinics, hospitals and schools. It affects the country's broader social and security infrastructure.
According to intelligence assessments, individuals and groups from the Great Lakes region, northern Mozambique, the Horn of Africa and West Africa have used South Africa as a base to recruit members, recuperate, raise funds and plan operations. Authorities have also identified links between some of these networks and transnational organised crime syndicates involved in cybercrime, money laundering, illegal mining, maritime piracy, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
