‘Like ICE’: Western Cape police accused of unlawfully detaining foreign migrants

Up to 200 foreign migrants have been in detained by the police since the 30th of June as part of the state response to the anti-immigration protests led by March and March and Operation Dudula. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration declared even before the xenophobic deadline that the arrest of “illegal foreign nationals” would be intensified.

The Western Cape Coalition Against Xenophobia (WCC-AX) is raising the alarm over the conduct of the South African Police Service in Robertson and surrounding towns, which it likens to that of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) of the United States of America. ICE is is carrying out the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, often arresting migrants in public places and immigration offices. They have killed 8 immigrants and protesters this year, with over 50 detainees dying since 2025.

WCC-AX say that the rights of the migrants have been trampled upon as they languish in jail in Robertson and surrounding Winelands towns, denied medication, their basic sanitary requirements, and food. They are all from our neighbouring states, mostly Zimbabwe, and Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho.

The Robertson police denied these claims and said food brought by relatives and supporters of the detainees has been allowed, but access has to be managed. “The station commander has confirmed that food brought by relatives is permitted, subject to a controlled process, and that visits are allowed but managed due to the large number of family members seeking access to detainees,” said the police.

But the police are not managing the acceptance of goods as it is arbitrary, with some police officers refusing and others being sympathetic to the plight of the detainees, WCC-AX responded. “The acceptance of goods, including medication, has been totally arbitrary, with some police simply refusing to accept items, going so far as to say they ‘don’t care’, while other police have acknowledged this pattern and acted differently, but all entirely at their own discretion apparently.”

Sheriff Ramaobi, an activist in the area, confirmed that they were told that they cannot bring anything to the detainees. “One of our colleagues who visited one of the prison cells in Robertson asked these questions in terms of, can we bring medication or food supplies to our migrant brothers and sisters?  And it was denied. Other police stations, like McGregor and Montagu, strictly said that we’re not allowed. We are not allowed to give any support to the people that are incarcerated,” she said.

The police also deny that the detainees have been kept in jail illegally, saying that they have acted within the law and in cooperation with the Department of Home Affairs. “The foreign nationals detained for immigration-related purposes are dealt with in terms of the applicable legislation and in cooperation with the Department of Home Affairs, which is responsible for immigration administration and deportation processes,” said SAPS.

WCC-AX disputes this, saying that after they paid the admission-of-guilt fines, they were supposed to be released and not kept in jail for over two months. “If the police wanted to continue to detain them, they should have followed the administrative procedures laid down in s34 of the Immigration Act. The law states that people have to be told why they are being detained and what their rights are, including their right to challenge the deportation decision and to legal representation. Their continued detention must come before a court with them getting the opportunity to make representations. This did not happen. That’s why their continued detention is unlawful,” WCC-AX argues.

Anti-immigrant protesters outside the provincial legislature in Cape Town on the 30th of June. File photo by Mzi Velapi

WCC-AX demands

The key demands of the Western Cape Coalition Against Xenophobia include the release of the detainees, for SAPS members to “stop acting like members of March and March (and ICE in the US)”, and act within the law.

The anti-xenophobia group is also calling for the suspension of police officers accused of failing to enforce the law and human rights violations, and that they must be subjected to an inquiry. The South African Human Rights Commission must also conduct an investigation. “The minister of home affairs must explain why his departmental officials conflate criminal and administrative proceedings in contravention of the Immigration Act,” says WCC-AX.