- The South African migration policy debate is centred on four critical issues, namely: the question of illegal immigration; affirmative action; employment of migrant workers in the mining industry; and changing migration patterns through regional development.
- Although there are no official figures to verify this statement, journalists have reported that South Africa now has upwards of two million illegal immigrants – mostly people from Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and sometimes Nigeria, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.
- To control entry and limit the number of illegal migrants, governments around the world have adopted border and port-of-entry controls, visa policies, internal controls and deportation capabilities, legalisation and employer sanctions.
- International experience shows that governments also focus on stimulating the economies of sending countries in an effort to reduce the socio-economic incentives for exit. They do this by concentrating on expanding trade, foreign investment, and development assistance.
Read press release: Fortress SA is hardly a wise way to discourage aliens
