Pretoria – President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to address South Africans on Sunday evening on the government’s approach to illegal migration and the recent wave of anti-foreigner protests sweeping the country.
The address is scheduled for 6pm at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, with SABC providing a broadcast feed to all media and the PresidencyZA live streaming proceedings across its digital platforms.
“Cyril Ramaphosa will this evening address the nation on the government’s management approach to illegal migration and the recent surge in protests against foreign nationals,” the Presidency said in a statement issued on Sunday morning. 
The address comes as South Africa faces growing public pressure over undocumented foreign nationals, with protests intensifying ahead of a June 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country.
Earlier on Friday, Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters there would be no “shutdown,” while briefing the media on the outcomes of Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting. She said Cabinet had received and approved a comprehensive migration management approach developed by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, along with a National Action Plan on migration.
“Cabinet received and approved a comprehensive approach to managing migration in South Africa, developed by the IMC Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, and approved the National Action Plan, a country report on migration in South Africa,” Ntshavheni said.
“The president will address the nation on this matter, and the details will be provided by the president,” she added.
Ntshavheni also warned South Africans against taking the law into their own hands in response to illegal migration.
The government has put in place several measures to curb illegal immigration, including the establishment of the Border Management Authority in 2023. The BMA oversees law enforcement at land, air and maritime ports of entry and in border law enforcement areas.
The Department of Home Affairs has steadily increased deportations of undocumented foreign nationals year on year since 2022, despite capacity constraints, while Cabinet approved the revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection in March 2026 following public consultations across all nine provinces that drew thousands of submissions.
The White Paper sets out what the government describes as the most significant reform of South Africa’s citizenship, immigration and refugee protection framework in a generation, targeting fraud, national security gaps, and poor service delivery.
The Department of Employment and Labour has also finalised a National Labour Migration Policy introducing maximum quotas for documented foreign nationals, with prosecution provided for employers who hire undocumented workers. Cabinet has further approved the Employment Services Amendment Bill for submission to Parliament, which would allow the Minister of Employment and Labour to set employment quotas for foreign nationals across any sector or occupational category.
