Making the Best Out of Immigration

The document examines South Africa's challenges with immigration, particularly from Zimbabwe, and critiques the Department of Home Affairs' focus on policing and deportation. It argues that migration is a global phenomenon driven by wealth disparities that cannot be stopped by draconian measures. The author recommends integrating immigration into broader planning for healthcare, education, and labour, while proposing a tailor-made humanitarian status for Zimbabweans to replace the current failing asylum and documentation systems.

• South Africa has become the world's top destination for asylum seekers, largely driven by political and economic crises in Zimbabwe, with an estimated one to two million Zimbabweans currently residing in the country.
• The South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) manages immigration through a security paradigm focused on 'detection, detention and deportation', which the author argues is ineffective and fuels societal tension.
• Global trends indicate that international migration is driven by systemic disparities in wealth and opportunity, meaning individual states or regions cannot simply stop migration flows regardless of how strict their measures are.
• The criminalisation of migration in South Africa has driven immigration underground, making it more difficult for the state to track migrant characteristics and needs, while simultaneously increasing xenophobic violence and vigilantism.
• The author proposes that Zimbabweans should be granted a specific 'humanitarian leave to remain' rather than being treated as ordinary economic migrants or processed through a failing asylum system.
• To effectively manage immigration, South Africa must move beyond policing and incorporate migration considerations into all levels of national planning, including agriculture, urban planning, healthcare, and schooling.

APA

Hammerstad, A. (2012). Making the Best Out of Immigration. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Policy-Briefing-58.pdf

Chicago

Hammerstad, Anne. Making the Best Out of Immigration. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2012. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Policy-Briefing-58.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hammerstad |first1=Anne |title=Making the Best Out of Immigration |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=October 2012 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Policy-Briefing-58.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hammerstad2012making, author = {Hammerstad, Anne}, title = {{Making the Best Out of Immigration}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2012}, month = oct, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Policy-Briefing-58.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }