Xenophobia Fears Return as South African Anti-Immigration Group Sets September 30 Deadline

Tensions over immigration in South Africa are rising again after the anti-immigration movement March and March announced a fresh September 30 deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country, raising fears of another wave of protests and possible attacks against migrant communities.

The movement announced the deadline during a demonstration in Durban on Monday, where protesters marched through the city while the 46th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit was taking place. Their message was directed not only at the South African government but at African leaders attending the regional gathering, whom they urged to take responsibility for their citizens living in South Africa without valid immigration documents.

March and March had previously set June 30 as a national day of action over undocumented migration. The campaign was accompanied by protests and security operations, while reports also emerged of attacks, intimidation and disruption affecting foreign nationals. The movement has now described September 30 as the next major stage of its campaign, warning that it intends to organize a much larger mobilization if its demands are not addressed.

The renewed campaign comes at a particularly sensitive moment for South Africa. The country is hosting regional leaders at a time when questions about migration, border control and the treatment of African foreigners have become increasingly difficult to separate from the wider debate about unemployment, crime and pressure on public services.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged that South Africans have legitimate concerns about immigration, but he has also drawn a firm line between enforcing immigration law and targeting people because they are foreigners. Speaking ahead of the SADC summit, he said South Africa could not promote regional integration at diplomatic gatherings while practising exclusion in its streets.

That distinction is becoming increasingly important.

South Africa has the right to determine who enters and remains in the country and to enforce its immigration laws. But enforcement is legally the responsibility of the state, not vigilante groups. South Africa's own government documentation notes that courts have been asked to address unlawful harassment, intimidation and exclusion of migrants by groups involved in anti-immigration campaigns.

For migrants, the September 30 announcement therefore carries more than political significance. Previous anti-foreigner campaigns have generated anxiety among communities that include Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, Malawians and other African nationals living and working in South Africa.

The concern is already being reflected in movement across borders. Nigeria's government has announced another voluntary repatriation of 83 Nigerians from South Africa, with the returnees scheduled to arrive in Lagos on August 19. The latest operation forms part of a broader response to rising anti-foreigner sentiment and reported Afrophobic attacks.

At the same time, South Africa is facing the economic consequences of its increasingly heated immigration debate. Businesses and communities depend heavily on migrant workers, entrepreneurs and traders, while the country also has an interest in maintaining stable relations with neighboring states whose citizens make up a significant part of its migrant population.

That makes the coming weeks particularly important.

The September 30 deadline is a demand issued by an activist movement, not a government deportation order. Whether it leads to a large protest, further security operations or additional diplomatic tensions will depend partly on how the South African authorities respond and whether the movement's supporters remain within the law.

The stakes are also regional. SADC is built around closer economic and political cooperation among southern African countries, and the treatment of citizens moving between member states inevitably affects that integration project.

South Africa is now being asked to balance two competing pressures: demands from citizens for stricter immigration enforcement and its responsibilities to protect foreign nationals from discrimination, intimidation and violence.

As September 30 approaches, the real test will be whether South Africa can enforce its immigration laws without allowing frustration over undocumented migration to become a license for xenophobia.