PRESS RELEASE
Extra-judicial detention is a tool of fascism. SAPS has been setting targets per police station for
arrests of migrants in W.Cape, and detaining documented migrants. The Western Cape
Coalition Against Xenophobia condemns this unlawful targeting of African migrants and asylum
seekers.
Increasingly in Cape Town, as has been the case in Durban and Johannesburg, SAPS has been
arresting migrants on the streets and in their homes, under the false pretence of managing
illegal immigration. These individuals, many of whom have produced their documents to SAPS,
are lawfully in the country; yet they are detained.
Xenophobia is structural, sanctioned and supported by a political elite that seeks to divide the
working class.
Based on the President’s address on 7 June, and his meeting with March and March leaders,
we can assume that his promise to “crack down on law violations” is a promise to do the
xenophobes’ work for them. SAPS reported that over 8000 people were arrested in 14 days; we
are aware of a number of documented people who were arrested and released without being
charged. Seemingly, the directive SAPS is carrying out is a targeting of migrants regardless of
legal status to meet a quota of arrests.
Africans who have lived their whole lives in South Africa are now being pulled from the streets
and their homes, and into holding cells to fulfil SAPS quotas. We are not fooled by these
populist tactics of distraction, bending to the will of March and March in advance of local
elections. Arresting migrants does not repair infrastructure, provide jobs or reduce the cost of
living.
It is not a crime to be African
It is illegal for SAPS to detain someone for documentation purposes without reasonable
grounds to believe they do not have legal stay in the country. The law is clear – documented
individuals, even if those documents have expired, as well as those intending to seek asylum,
and those awaiting appeal – have the lawful right to be in this country.
A system that sanctions illegal directives by law enforcement will not only apply this to migrants,
but to South Africans as well. Unemployed and working-class South Africans are already paying
the price of fascist policing. The brazen illegality by SAPS must be stopped before we find
ourselves in a police state.
We call on SAPS to:
- Immediately stop any policy of targets for arrests of migrants
- Stop all illegal arrests and detention of documented migrants
- Stop detaining people who come from countries where they face persecution
- Uphold the principle of non-refoulement and protect asylum seekers and refugees; do not
- detain and arrest them.
- Treat people as innocent until proven guilty
- Stop wreaking havoc, tearing families apart
- Train SAPS officials in Immigration Law
Contact:
+27 60 935 9258
//END
About the Western Cape Coalition Against Xenophobia
WCC-AX is a coalition of social movements, refugee-led organisations, community-based
organisations, NPOS and individual activists, operating across the Western Cape, primarily in
Cape Town, with over 50 organisations represented. Our members work directly with migrant,
refugee and asylum-seeker communities, and our shared purpose is to protect the safety,
dignity and rights of these communities, many of whom are among the most vulnerable
residents in the areas where they live and work. While the coalition in its current formation is
more recent, it has its roots in previous formations through collaborative work initiated by
Chronicles of Refugees and Immigrants (ChRI) with a focus on peacebuilding in our
communities and policy advocacy.
