Protesters in South Africa call for stricter immigration laws and border controls

Controversial civic group, March and March, took to the streets of the South African city of Durban on Wednesday demanding stricter immigration laws and border controls.

Joined by several political parties, including ActionSA, and vigilante anti-migrant group Operation Dudula, they demanded the mass deportation of undocumented foreign nationals.

March and March’s leader, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, together with her supporters, did little to temper rhetoric widely condemned as xenophobic.

She questioned why government allowed undocumented foreigners to use public facilities, including healthcare.

“If you are saying you can’t refuse them healthcare for example, why must it be public? Make them pay for their own healthcare if they want to be here in the country milking our resources for all that they have,” she said.

ActionSA’s leader, Herman Mashaba, said his party joined the demonstration to fill a vacuum left by government which he said has been too slow to act.

“We are seeing our government allowing our country to be flooded by groups from all over the world as far as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mexico, all over the world. So we are saying to our government this is unacceptable,” he said.

He said his party fully supports March and March which was also marking its first year “of actually raising this matter into the public domain”.

A man who took part in the march, Muzi Xaba, said illegal immigrants were taking jobs away from locals.

“So, our duty is to deal with labour as well as civil matters, … we are already fighting for people in the workplace. We must remove foreigners and then hire South Africans,” he said.

In addition to allegations that undocumented foreigners take jobs from South Africans, anti-migrant groups also blame them for rising crime rates and the erosion of local communities.