Drivers of undocumented migration in South Africa

This qualitative data emerged from semi-structured interviews and document analysis conducted with experts and senior public officials in the border securitisation and migration management environment. The selection of participants was based on three relevant categories for managing undocumented migration in South Africa: law enforcement, migration management and human rights. These categories encapsulate the environment which migrants have to go through, from law enforcement at the borderlines and within the country during detentions and deportations to the policies that inform migration management in the country and the human rights of migrants throughout the policy chain. Furthermore, the governance of undocumented migration in South Africa is highly contested and involves various state and non-state actors that fall under the above three categories.
Due to the seniority of the participants' positions, accompanied by the expertise in the field of migration issues, the participants were relevant to save time, produce rich descriptions, and provide varying policy positions of undocumented migration management in South Africa. These research participants have experience and knowledge in the physical infrastructure of borders, the technological advancements that are installed in South African borders, bureaucratic inefficiencies that influence how undocumented migration is managed in the country, the challenges that face undocumented migrants, the institutional arrangements that are in place for arresting, detaining and deporting undocumented migrants, the chronology of migration policies since 1994 and how these policies have performed in order to inform alternative border securitisation policies.