Question NW1907 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
21 June 2022 - NW1907
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
(a) What total number of illegal migrants were apprehended and prosecuted for crimes over the past 10 years and (b) which crimes were they found guilty of?
Reply:
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) does not keep record of matters against illegal immigrants. We are moving towards electronic information where the nationality of an accused will be recorded but it does not reflect the legality of their residence or working permits. When an illegal immigrant is convicted and sentenced, they are channelled from the courts to the Department of Correctional Services until the Department of Home Affairs can deport such individuals after serving the sentence. The Department of Home Affairs would be the most appropriate Department to respond to the question as they keep records of these cases.
Since the information on part (a) of the question is not available, the NPA is not able to respond to the part (b) of the question relating to the categories of crimes.