Borders and the human heart

by Kgaugelo Habyane and Gillian Hugo

As the unofficial 30 June deadline, set by anti-migrant groups, for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa approaches, our country finds itself at a volatile crossroads. South Africa, often regarded as a beacon of hope in the Global South, is wrestling with a failing political system, growing social frustration, and increasing migration from neighbouring countries. Foreign nationals are reporting incidents of intimidation and assaults, and they fear for their safety. These realities have become fertile ground for political opportunism, vigilante action, and a modern xenophobic movement that too often places borders above human dignity.

We must call on our discerning hearts to help us hold the tension of opposites, refusing two easy temptations, pretending undocumented migration presents no challenges, and pretending migrants themselves are the source of South Africa’s deepest problems. 

The concerns voiced by many South Africans, about unemployment, crime, strained public services, and informal trading, are real. However, according to worldbank.org, “one immigrant worker generates approximately two jobs for locals.” In September 2025, the SIU (Special Investigating Unit) reported that corruption and underfunding, not migration, are draining the health system. The 2018 OECD/ILO study suggests that immigrants make a valuable contribution to South Africa’s economy by boosting employment, increasing per capita income, and paying more in taxes than they receive in public services. Contrary to common misconceptions, immigration does not reduce employment opportunities for South Africans and can even create new jobs. Supporting immigrant integration and reducing discrimination would further strengthen these economic benefits. These concerned voices deserve serious political leadership rather than slogans. Yet, as Bishop Thulani Mbuyisa and Fr Hugh O’Connor remind us in the June 24 SACBC appeal, “lasting solutions are never found in violence, scapegoating, or threats.” If every foreign African national were to leave this country tomorrow, many of the structural problems confronting South Africa would remain. Migration has become a convenient target for frustrations whose roots run much deeper.

Adding to this tension is a digital environment in which outrage often outstrips accuracy. AI-generated misinformation, recycled videos, and inflammatory posts have amplified fear and confusion, prompting many foreign nationals to flee despite the absence of any legal basis for the June 30 deadline. Fear spreads faster than truth, and compassion is often its first casualty.

How, then, do we recover our humanity?

Pope Leo XIV speaks of Magnifica Humanitas—a magnificent humanity that chooses to see people before problems. He points to witnesses like Dorothy Day and Elisabeth Elliot, whose stories are not calls to naïveté, but reminders that moral progress is rarely achieved through fear. It is a long and difficult journey sustained by mercy, courage, and hope.

Perhaps this is what our national conversation has been missing, though we are way beyond dialogue at this point. We have become skilled at debating constitutions, borders, and policies, yet often forget the desperation that compels people to leave home in search of safety, work, or dignity. Christian faith never asks us to abandon prudence or the legitimate responsibilities of the state. It does, however, insist that every policy, every law, and every public debate begins with the recognition that every person bears the image of God.

As South Africa navigates this difficult moment, we are called to resist misinformation, reject hatred, and recover what Scripture repeatedly commands: to love the stranger and to treat the foreigner with the dignity we would hope to receive ourselves. “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)

Let us heed the call of Bishop Mbuyisa and Fr O’Connor and “uphold the rule of law, resist the politics of scapegoating, and work together to build a society rooted in justice, compassion, fraternity, and peace.”