SA battling to deal with refugees

was fighting a losing battle over the issue of illegal immigrants, with most of the deported immigrants returning to South Africa within weeks of their deportation.
And SA Home Affairs Minister, Nosizwe Mapisa-Nqakula, recently said deporting and arresting illegal immigrants was a waste of public money as many quickly found their way back into the country.
Statistics obtained last week from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), indicate that there is a sharp decline in numbers being deported.
IOM program manager, Nick Van Der Vyver said: “Statistics at hand show that the number of deportees we have handled since May has been going down drastically. In May the figure stood at 20 000, in June 16 300, July 15 300 and in August 14 000 and the figures keep going down.”
At the IOM Reception and Support Center, deportees are offered food, shelter and free transport to travel to their respective homes.
In the first half of the year, over 100 000 Zimbabweans were deported from South Africa, showing an increase of more than 50% compared to the same period last year. – CAJ News