"I moved to Southern Africa because of their infrastructure," Fifi, a 21-year-old Ghanaian footballer who plays for Bucks Buccaneers in the Namibia Premier League, told DW. After the football season ended, he was in South Africa on holiday when he was caught up in the anti-immigrant protests. Fifi was among a group of Ghanaians who were recently repatriated to Ghanafrom South Africa.

South Africa has long been a destination for migrants across Africa. It offers many economic opportunities and relative political stability. It is no wonder that South Africa hosts one of the largest migrant populations on the African continent.

According to Stats SA, the national statistical agency of South Africa, an estimated 3.3 million immigrants live in the country. That's about 5.1% of the population of 65 million. Other estimates, including undocumented migrants, place the figure significantly higher.

Data show that most migrants in South Africa come from the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Under SADC rules, citizens of member states can stay in South Africa visa-free for a maximum of 90 days. But ensuring that visitors leave after 90 days is one of the key triggers of recent anti-migrant protests.

Migration trends to South Africa

"Earlier on in the 90s, you would have people fleeing wars, the civil war in Mozambique, and coming into South Africa," Fredson Guilengue, a project manager at the left-wing Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Johannesburg, told DW. "But later on, because of the situation in Zimbabwe, you had a significant number coming from Zimbabwe to South Africa. And in the last decade, people fleeing conflicts in the DRC, but also economic immigrants."

South Africa's mining sector and industrial economy have relied on migrant labor for decades, creating well-established migration routes across the region.

Migration patterns have evolved, according to Ongama Mtimka, acting director at the Raymond Mhlaba Centre for Governance and Leadership at Nelson Mandela University. "The trend in the last 15 years has been the migration for settlement in South Africa." Many of the migrants are now settling, building families, and becoming a more permanent feature in the country.

Stats SA's recent data shows that most migrants settle in Gauteng, followed by the Western Cape. These migrants tend to settle where economic opportunity presents itself. But increasing anti-migrant sentiment has brought the issue to the fore.

President Ramaphosa's plan to tackle illegal migration

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosaannounced a raft of new measures to crack down on illegal and irregular migration. He vowed that his government would not tolerate immigration law violators, strengthen border security, stamp out corruption within the immigration system, close loopholes in immigration law, and work with other African countries to tackle the migration challenge.

He also warned against vigilantism: "No other person is allowed, for example,to confront someone in the street to demand proof of nationality."

Authorities in South Africa say they have deported more than 100,000 undocumented migrants over the past two years and prevented approximately 450,000 attempted illegal border crossings in the past year.

"South Africa needs to create jobs, fight corruption, and address maladministration. These are the core issues," Fifi said. 

Anti-migrant groups doubt Ramaphosa's plan

Ramaphosa's assurances have done little to convince anti-migrant protesters, such as the All-Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa (ARDF-SA), a group critical of foreign nationals in the transport sector. "Unfortunately, South Africans feel that the government doesn't listen to them," Freeman Bhengu, ARDF-SA's interim organizer, told DW. Another anti migrant group, March and March, dismissed Ramaphosa's proposal as unworkable.

South Africa has a total land border of approximately 4,471 km (2,779 miles) with six neighboring countries. Officially, it has 53 designated land border crossings, but many more footpaths, gaps in border fencing, and makeshift trails exist. Policing these will be difficult, experts say.

Additionally, analysts agree that Ramaphosa's address does not outline a comprehensive plan to address the myriad issues driving migration to South Africa. Factors like the economic and political situation of neighboring countries. 

Mtimka, who works at the Nelson Mandela University, urged the government to avoid populist reactions and sentiments and instead adopt a strategic, evidence-based approach. "It's important that South Africa does not create an anti-African posture, our companies are profiting from the rest of the continent, for that matter,'' he added.

African countries threaten lawsuits and tit-for-tat

While Ramaphosa tries to reassure South Africans and the rest of the continent, a June 30 deadline set by anti-migrant groups for all undocumented migrants to leave looms large. Malawi plans to repatriate more than 3,000 of its citizens ahead of the deadline.Ghana has begun airlifting its nationals out of the country, and Nigeria is scheduled to follow suit.

Ghana is currently considering taking legal action against South Africa at international courts to seek compensation for its citizens following recent anti-immigrant and xenophobic attacks. The Ghanaian government has also petitioned the African Union to address the escalating situation.

Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has explicitly warned that the federal government is considering retaliatory measures against South Africa.

Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu