The South African government, where anti-migrant protests are on the rise, is stepping up its action against illegal immigrants, several ministers said Monday after an emergency meeting.

In this most industrialized country on the African continent, and against a backdrop of mass unemployment, anti-immigrant movements regularly accuse undocumented immigrants of committing crimes and stealing jobs from South Africans.

One of these groups ordered them to leave the country by June 30, an ultimatum without any legal weight but which fuels fears of violence.

“We have a problem with illegal immigration,” Deputy Interior Minister Njabulo Nzuza told reporters after an emergency meeting of government officials. “But just because this problem exists doesn’t mean we should plunge the country into chaos,” he added. He stated that the government has increased border controls and that a growing number of undocumented immigrants have been deported.

Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, for her part, assured that government officials would be deployed to assess and increase the visibility of these inspections. "All we ask is that this be done within the framework of the law," she stated.

"Only law enforcement officers have the right and responsibility to ask for people's identity," stressed Defense Minister Angie Motshekga, after reports that self-defense groups were checking the papers of foreign nationals.

Last week, several hundred foreigners, mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Somalia, took refuge in a religious center in Durban (east), claiming that hostile residents had ordered the foreigners, during a door-to-door campaign, to leave before June 30.

A major port city and economic center, Durban has become a hotbed of xenophobic violence, with organized groups targeting foreigners under different banners.

On Monday, hundreds of residents of the Katlehong township in the Johannesburg metropolitan area urged police to check the papers of foreigners running businesses.

This resurgence of xenophobia has raised concerns in several African countries.

Ghana plans to repatriate several hundred of its nationals this week, its ambassador, Benjamin Quashie, told AFP this weekend, acknowledging that many had expired work permits.

The South African government rejects accusations of xenophobia, while calling on African countries to address the economic and governance crises that fuel migration.

South Africa has been plagued by recurring waves of xenophobic violence since 2008, when dozens of migrants were killed and thousands displaced in attacks across the country. Similar unrest occurred in 2015 and again in 2021, often triggered by economic frustrations and political mobilization around anti-immigrant rhetoric.