Overview
- The Department of Home Affairs, which issued a statement Thursday, reported 109,344 deportations over the past two financial years.
- Annual removals rose from 39,672 in 2023/24 to 51,560 in 2024/25, then to 57,784 in 2025/26, a two‑year increase of 46%.
- Home Affairs credits efficiency reforms, the Operation New Broom enforcement drive, and biometric checks, with drones and officer body cameras already in use.
- Minister Leon Schreiber warned people in the country illegally to self‑deport or face a ban on future legal entry.
- The department plans to expand its Electronic Travel Authorisation system to capture biometrics for every foreign visitor, which it says will make it easier to spot and arrest people who overstay or lack status, while some researchers and politicians quoted by The Citizen say undocumented migration strains jobs and public services.