Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber’s directive for officials to remove illegal immigrants from the streets is steadily making headway in Cape Town.
Schreiber who has been vocal about the issue on X and has been working with the City of Cape Town and police to trace illegal foreigners and conduct intervention operations.
According to the City, over the last few weeks, the DHA has conducted several operations in cooperation with the City’s law enforcement agency and Saps to operationalise its mandate.
The City’s Safety and Security Mayco Member JP Smith said last week DHA officials supported by members of the City’s law enforcement acted on information about undocumented persons living in District Six.
And yesterday morning, DHA teams supported by members of law enforcement conducted yet another tracing operation in Cape Town, this time descending on an area along the N1 between Paarden Eiland and Woodstock where several informal structures have been put up to house undocumented immigrants.
Smith said: “Minister Schreiber and the City have made good progress working together. Last week we did a large operation in District Six and this morning we conducted yet another big operation.”
“We worked the length of the N1 close to town where there are a lot of structures along the side of the road, most of which were occupied by foreign nationals.
“As a result of the operation 34 people were arrested yesterday for not having the relevant documentation or up to date permits to be in the country, while 72 people were surveyed,” Smith said.
Of the 72 people surveyed Smith said 40 were undocumented men and 32 were women who are now facing deportation.
Meanwhile, Schreiber whilst speaking at the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs in Parliament stressed that he would be working tirelessly to revitalise the DHA and ensure that it becomes more digitally based to safeguard national security.