Mozambique’s National Migration Service, Senami says South Africa has deported 2,694 Mozambican nationals since January over alleged immigration and border-related offences.
Senami spokesperson, Juca Bata, disclosed that the latest deportations involved 485 Mozambicans returned on Wednesday and another 144 on Thursday through the Ressano Garcia border post, the busiest crossing point between both countries.
Bata explained that Mozambican authorities screened the deportees upon arrival and confirmed they were citizens from different provinces who had been arrested in South Africa for residing in the country without valid documentation.
According to him, the deportees stated that they were not victims of xenophobic attacks, insisting that their arrests were strictly linked to immigration violations.
The development comes amid growing concerns over the large population of undocumented migrants living and working in South Africa, where authorities have stepped up immigration enforcement operations in recent years.
South Africa continues to attract economic migrants from across Southern Africa, especially from Mozambique and Zimbabwe, due to job opportunities in sectors such as mining, agriculture, construction, and informal trade.
However, the country has continued to struggle with irregular migration, leading to periodic crackdowns, anti-migrant campaigns led by some community groups, and increasing political pressure on authorities to tighten border security.
The migration debate has also become more sensitive against the backdrop of economic hardship, rising unemployment, and recurring incidents of xenophobic violence that have left many foreign nationals exposed to attacks and discrimination.
