Latest news with #R375k
The Citizen
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
If you are in South Africa illegally, self-deport now, warns Home Affairs
'We want to send a strong message to all who are illegally residing and working in the country that we are coming for them' Operation New Broom in Roodepoort in Gauteng on 7 July 2025. Picture: Home Affairs/X Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has warned those in South Africa without proper documentation to self-deport before his department reaches them. On Friday, Schreiber led Operation New Broom to conduct its first immigration enforcement raids in Nelson Mandela Bay. The operation led to the arrest for deportation of 95 illegal immigrants. Numerous operations have already been conducted in Cape Town and Pretoria. ALSO READ: Tip-off leads police to at least 90 illegal foreigners in abandoned Houghton property The latest operation took place in the Gqeberha Central Business District, where, according to Schreiber, a dilapidated warehouse was found to be housing numerous illegal foreigners. A Chinese-owned business was also found to be in contravention of a range of immigration laws. The Department will be in court today to confirm the deportation orders. 'Operation New Broom demonstrates our commitment to work in a focused manner to restore the rule of law. 'Our message to people who are in our country illegally is clear: voluntarily self-deport now, before Home Affairs deports you and bans you from entering South Africa altogether,' warned the home affairs minister. Gauteng operation On Monday, 7 July, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Njabulo Nzuza led Operation New Broom in Roodepoort in Gauteng. The operation followed a tip-off from a community member. ALSO READ: SA taxi driver nabbed attempting to smuggle 25 illegal foreigners, gets R375k fine 'We encourage citizens to continue reporting suspected illegal activities. It would have been difficult for anyone to suspect that unlawful activities were taking place here because the managers and workers live and sleep in the factory,' said Nzuza. 'We want to send a strong message to all who are illegally residing and working in the country that we are coming for them. We found 21 illegal foreign nationals from Malawi, China and Zimbabwe. One Malawian had a visitor's visa but was found working in contravention of the conditions of his visa. All the arrested people are being processed for deportation.' Home Affairs' Operation New Broom Home Affairs launched Operation New Broom in May, as part of the department's drive to intensify enforcement operations in urban hotspots. The operation seeks to arrest, convict and deport illegal immigrants occupying public spaces. ALSO READ: Home Affairs committee raises alarm over border authority underfunding The first operation took place in District 6 in Cape Town, where 25 suspects were arrested while occupying land meant for restitution to the victims of forced removals. The operation utilises biometric technology to verify the immigration status of suspects, thereby eliminating the risk of fraudulent documents and strengthening legal cases. 'The benefits of our commitment to digital transformation are being felt across all areas of Home Affairs' mandate, including through the strides made by the Border Management Authority at the borders and by Home Affairs inland,' said the minister. 'As with everything else we do, Operation New Broom is guided by our commitment to the rule of law. It is this commitment that both motivates us to do more to combat illegality, and to uphold due process and legal compliance in the process.' READ NEXT: Schreiber explains persistent ICT failures plaguing home affairs offices
The Citizen
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Cape Town files eviction papers for foreigners ‘demanding' relocation to Canada
The city filed eviction papers on Wednesday The City of Cape Town has approached the courts in an attempt to evict the remaining foreigners who have been illegally occupying the Wingfield tent and Paint City in Bellville. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced on Wednesday that the city had filed papers to evict the remaining 360 foreigners who had been illegally occupying the areas since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. He said they had been offered alternative living arrangements, and while some accepted the offers, others refused, demanding that they be relocated to Canada. ALSO READ: South Africa must charge countries for deportations of illegal foreigners, says ATM The city filed eviction papers on Wednesday 'Residents of Kensington will know exactly where we are because you will see right behind us, the infamous Wingfield tent, which has been here since Covid,' said Hill-Lewis. 'We have now gone through the process of carefully drafting these evicting papers, and they are being filed in court today. This means we can finally start the process at this Wingfield tent and Paint City in Bellville.' Operation New Broom targets foreigners Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the city's move was a result of the department's newly launched Operation New Broom, the latest technology-driven initiative aimed at arresting, convicting, and deporting undocumented foreigners occupying public spaces. ALSO READ: SA taxi driver nabbed attempting to smuggle 25 illegal foreigners, gets R375k fine 'There were numerous offers made in cooperation with international agencies to relocate many of the people in these areas. Many of them took up the offers, but some have refused, and today we're saying, enough is enough,' said Schreiber. 'The Department of Home Affairs recently launched Operation New Broom to signal our commitment to enforcing the rule of law when it comes to illegal immigrants occupying public spaces.' On the District Six open land, Hill-Lewis said: 'This land is owned by the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, and is supposed to be used for the grievously slow-moving District Six restitution. I write to that Department frequently to warn them of the growing number of unlawful structures on their land.' 🚨🇿🇦 With the help of the Ministers @Leon_Schreib and @DeanMacpherson, we can now finally launch a joint eviction application for the foreign nationals living unlawfully at Wingfield and at Paint City, Bellville. Despite years of support, including reintegration and… — Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) June 18, 2025 Last month, 25 suspects were arrested while occupying the land. Schreiber said at the time: 'As with everything else we do, Operation New Broom is guided by our commitment to the rule of law. It is this commitment that both motivates us to do more to combat illegality, and to uphold due process and legal compliance in the process.' READ NEXT: Tip-off leads police to at least 90 illegal foreigners in abandoned Houghton property
