Note to Editors: Please find English and Afrikaans soundbites by Ald Cilliers Brink here and here
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane welcomes the immigration enforcement operation conducted by the Department of Home Affairs in Plastic View this morning.
Immigration authorities arrested several Plastic View residents for deportation, and it is now for the Tshwane Metro to remove illegal structures now unoccupied.
If the Metro fails to take this step, the land will simply be occupied once again.
Last year I met with Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber, and he committed to work with Tshwane to ensure that immigration laws are enforced.
The non-enforcement of these laws over many years has placed a considerable burden on local authorities, especially when land is unlawfully occupied by undocumented foreign nationals.
We thank Minister Schreiber for his drive to enforce South Africa’s immigration laws, and call on Tshwane to finish the work commenced this morning.