‘We can protect genuine refugees and secure our borders’: ActionSA on new asylum rules

‘We can protect genuine refugees and secure our borders’: ActionSA on new asylum rules

Cape Town – ActionSA has warned that a new Home Affairs directive allowing undocumented people to lodge asylum applications could place further pressure on South Africa’s already strained immigration system. 

The party’s Parliamentary Chief Whip, Lerato Ngobeni, said the directive could create problems if asylum applications take years to process and applicants are dispersed into communities before their claims are decided. 

The directive follows a July Constitutional Court ruling in the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town case, which declared several provisions of the Refugees Act unconstitutional. 

The court found that people could not be prevented from accessing the asylum system solely because of procedural failures, including irregular entry into South Africa or failing to apply within the prescribed period. 

Home Affairs subsequently instructed refugee reception offices to accept people who report in person and indicate that they want to apply for asylum. 

This includes people who entered South Africa unlawfully, crossed outside a designated port of entry, do not have a visa or did not declare their intention to seek asylum when they entered the country. 

ActionSA said it accepts that government must comply with the Constitutional Court ruling but questioned how the asylum system will cope with the expected increase in applications. 

“Access to an asylum process is not the same as refugee status. That distinction is now more important than ever,” Ngobeni said. 

The party said its concern was what happens between the submission of an asylum application and the final decision. 

It argued that applicants could receive temporary legal status and move into communities while their claims are being processed, making it more difficult for authorities to locate people whose applications are eventually rejected. 

ActionSA has proposed establishing Integration and Repatriation Centres near South Africa’s borders and at strategic inland locations. 

Under the proposal, asylum seekers would remain at the centres for a limited period while their identities and applications are assessed. 

The party also wants biometric registration, stricter processing deadlines and asylum permits that would be valid for no more than 12 months before reassessment. 

It has further proposed a system that would distinguish people seeking protection from those using the asylum process to pursue economic opportunities. 

“Unemployment, poverty and the desire for economic opportunity cannot, on their own, transform economic migration into refugee status,” ActionSA said. 

The party also supports the First Safe Country Principle, under which people who have passed through safe countries before reaching South Africa would ordinarily seek protection in those countries, subject to the country’s constitutional and international obligations. 

ActionSA said it wanted Home Affairs to explain how the principle would work alongside the new asylum environment. 

The party is also calling for government to disclose how many additional asylum applications it expects, what resources will be made available to process them and how long applicants will have to wait for decisions. 

It wants clarity on biometric tracking, the identification of rejected applicants and whether controlled processing facilities will be established near the country’s borders. 

The concerns come as Home Affairs itself has acknowledged the potential pressure on the asylum system. 

Acting director-general Thulani Mavuso told Radio 702 that the department could be overwhelmed by the number of applications, particularly from people who do not genuinely require protection from persecution. 

However, the Constitutional Court ruling does not mean that everyone who applies for asylum will automatically be recognised as a refugee. 

The court held that applicants must have access to a proper merits-based assessment before their claims can be rejected because of procedural or immigration-related issues. 

ActionSA said South Africa could meet its obligations towards genuine refugees while maintaining control over its immigration system. 

“South Africa can protect genuine refugees and secure its borders. We can respect international law and put South Africans first,” the party said. 

The party has called on Home Affairs to provide answers on how the new system will be implemented and how the government intends to prevent backlogs from worsening. 

Picture: X / @GovernmentZA

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Compiled by Glaan Sibuyi

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