VIDEO: Abahambe Part II – Who Profits from South Africa’s Broken Immigration System?

Jun 23, 2026

In the second instalment of Checkpoint: Abahambe, eNCA examines the political, economic and social forces shaping South Africa’s migration debates amid growing anti-immigrant mobilisation. This episode explores how undocumented migrants often become scapegoats for broader structural challenges such as unemployment, weak service delivery, corruption, and failures in migration governance. It also interrogates who benefits from a system that leaves migrants vulnerable while fueling public frustration and social division.

ACMS senior researcher and co-director, Associate Professor Jo Vearey, argues that the issue of migrants has become politicised: “We then have political parties using this as part of their campaigning, it resonates with people. And people aren’t challenging that. People aren’t saying: ‘Well, what next? If we get rid of these foreign nationals, what’s actually going to change? Are you going to suddenly be improving service delivery?’ Obviously not. I would argue. But because, if we are saying it is the fault of the foreigners, then you are potentially going to believe us, and actually vote for us.” [22:38 into the video]

The documentary ultimately asks a critical question: if migration is being framed as the problem, who is escaping scrutiny for the deeper failures of governance, accountability and economic inclusion?

Catch the full documentary here: Checkpoint: Abahambe II.