JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — As the South Africa immigration crisis intensifies and the repatriation process continues, the protection and safety of migrant children have emerged as a critical humanitarian concern. Gugu Xaba, CEO of Save the Children South Africa, has highlighted the severe vulnerabilities faced by migrant families, particularly those with children born in the country to undocumented parents, amid ongoing deportation and repatriation efforts.
Speaking on the growing concerns surrounding the impact of immigration enforcement on minors, Xaba outlined the dire conditions many families face while awaiting processing. Migrant families and their children have been forced to assemble around embassies or in open fields, areas that frequently lack basic ablution facilities. This has led to severe hygiene problems, and the inability to cook food on-site has created urgent food security vulnerabilities.
Xaba noted that the South African government and foreign missions, specifically citing the Malawian government, should have engaged in better coordination prior to these operations. She argued that embassies and governments needed to establish clear transport capacities and share costs, rather than allowing thousands of vulnerable people to gather in unsafe conditions without a clear plan for their transit.
Beyond the physical risks, the psychological toll on the children is profound. Many of these children were born in South Africa, have attended local schools, and know no other home. The legal and bureaucratic complexities of the situation further complicate their protection. Xaba explained a critical systemic dilemma: while the children’s births are often registered, their parents remain undocumented.
If authorities were to separate the child from the undocumented parent, the child would be classified as an unaccompanied minor—a responsibility the government is currently ill-equipped to manage. Consequently, the system requires the parent to be regularized to ensure the child’s care. Xaba emphasized that parents must be informed of their responsibility to secure their own legal status to protect their children’s futures, noting that the current instability is pulling children out of the educational system.
While thousands of families have been repatriated, many undocumented migrants remain in the country, evading authorities out of fear. This fear is having a devastating economic and social impact on communities. In areas such as Alexandra in Johannesburg, former street vendors and small business owners have been forced to halt their livelihoods.
In response to this growing food insecurity, community-based organizations in Alexandra have stepped in to run feeding schemes. Save the Children South Africa is actively supporting these local initiatives to ensure families have access to basic nutrition, as parents who cannot feed themselves are inherently unable to care for their children.
Perhaps the most alarming consequence of this climate of fear is the avoidance of essential medical services. Xaba warned that undocumented parents are terrified to take their sick children to hospitals or clinics. As a result, ill children are being kept in soup kitchen centers rather than receiving professional medical care. Save the Children has cautioned that if this trend continues, the reluctance to seek medical help could tragically result in preventable child fatalities.
