Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has warned anti-migrant pressure groups that they risk arrest for raiding clinics, hospitals and other public facilities in search of undocumented foreign nationals.
Speaking during the release of the latest crime statistics on Friday, Cachalia stressed that only immigration officials and police officers are legally authorised to verify the status of migrants in South Africa.
“It is the job of immigration officers and police to enforce our immigration laws. People who have decided that they must act by themselves, to take the law into their own hands, to enter hospitals and schools, are acting unlawfully. And the police similarly have the responsibility to stop that,” said Cachalia.
His comments come as the SAPS Public Order Policing unit continues to manage rolling protests linked to newly formed nationalist pressure group March and March. The organisation has staged demonstrations focused on illegal immigration and has attracted growing public support in several communities.
Government previously faced similar pressure from Operation Dudula, a movement that gained traction over anti-illegal immigration campaigns before losing momentum following its failed attempt to enter electoral politics.
March and March has, however, continued to attract sizeable crowds and visible backing from members of political parties including ActionSA, uMkhonto weSizwe Party and Inkatha Freedom Party.
Although the organisation describes itself as non-aligned, founding leader Jacinta Ngobese previously told Newsnote that March and March would support political parties actively campaigning against illegal immigration.
Cachalia reiterated that members of the public should not attempt to enforce immigration laws themselves.
“People, South African citizens, should not be taking the law into their own hands. They should not be seeking to arrest undocumented migrants or criminals. The police must do their work. They should not be entering hospitals and schools and deciding who is supposed to be in the country and who is not. That responsibility lies with law enforcement authorities,” he said.