South African deportation based on the experiences of previously deported immigrants

Abstract

Irregular immigration is a significant challenge in South Africa and the Department of Home Affairs struggles to control the influx of undocumented immigrants. This study sought to respond to this by framing the migration event and repatriation process based on the lived experience of participants from the arrest of the immigrant to the subsequent deportation from the country. Moreover, the study sought to understand why immigrants reside in South Africa undocumented; facing deportation threat and how deportation threat affected their life functioning. The intent was therefore, to uncover the effectiveness of deportation as a means of control and deterrent for irregular immigration as well as provide insight for areas of improvement to address the migration gap.

The study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to understand deportation at an individual level, that is, the meaning, feelings and experiences regarding deportation as a practice. The enquiry involved semi-structured interviews with five previously deported participants. The Ecological Systems Model and Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems were utilised as the conceptual framework to structure the research findings.

The results of the study found an ecosystemic influence on the migration and legalisation decisions made by the immigrants. The actions and forces on all levels of the ecosystem either hindered or encouraged the ability of immigrants to migrate legally and obtain documentation that would legitimise their stay in South Africa. Thus, suggesting a need for a multi-level strategy to not only remove irregular immigrants from the country but also address the factors that encourage them to migrate in the first place; provide opportunities for maintaining undocumented status; and the avoidable barriers that limit legalisation.