Border Management and National Security: Analysis of the Illegal Immigration Challenges in South Africa

Abstract

Illegal immigration has become one of the most politically charged and institutionally demanding challenges confronting South Africa's post-apartheid state. Positioned at the southern tip of a continent marked by conflict, economic disparity and climate-related displacement, South Africa has for three decades functioned as the primary destination for regular and irregular migrants from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and beyond. This article critically examines the relationship between border management and national security in South Africa, situating the analysis within the country's distinctive geographical and socio-political context. Drawing on a qualitative desktop-based review of legislation, policy documents, parliamentary records and peer-reviewed literature, the article traces the evolution of South Africa's border governance architecture from a fragmented multi-agency model to the establishment of the Border Management Authority (BMA) in 2020, and evaluates the operational effectiveness of the South African National Defence Force's (SANDF) Operation Corona border-safeguarding mandate. The analysis finds that, notwithstanding legislative reform, border control in South Africa remains structurally undermined by chronic underfunding, ageing equipment, personnel shortages, corruption within Home Affairs, and an asylum-processing backlog that together erode the state's capacity to distinguish credible protection claims from irregular economic migration. These deficiencies have tangible national security implications, including exposure to cross-border organised crime, vehicle and stock theft syndicates, human trafficking and smuggling networks. At the same time, the article cautions against the securitisation of migration discourse, which has fuelled xenophobic mobilisation and risks conflating irregular migration with criminality in ways that violate the rights of genuine asylum seekers and documented migrants. The article concludes that effective border management requires an integrated approach that strengthens institutional capacity and inter-agency coordination while remaining anchored in constitutional and human rights obligations, and offers policy recommendations toward this end.