Leon Schreiber Announces Fresh Mayfair Immigration Crackdown As Employers Are Arrested

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber says South Africa’s immigration enforcement campaign is continuing, with Operation New Broom returning to Mayfair, Johannesburg, in a fresh operation targeting undocumented foreign nationals and employers accused of hiring them unlawfully.

In a post on X accompanied by video footage of the operation, Schreiber said hundreds of undocumented foreign nationals had been arrested for deportation, while employers allegedly employing people without the required documentation were also arrested.

“Our work to restore the rule of law in immigration continues unabated,” the minister said.

The latest operation forms part of the Department of Home Affairs’ wider effort to enforce immigration legislation through coordinated inspections and the use of biometric technology to verify people’s immigration status.

Operation New Broom was launched in May 2025, with its first intervention taking place in District Six, Cape Town. According to the department, the initiative uses technology to help verify identities and immigration status while supporting the preparation of cases against people found to be in the country unlawfully.

Mayfair has previously been the focus of a large immigration operation. In November 2025, more than 600 undocumented foreign nationals were arrested during a joint intervention involving the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, the South African Police Service and Home Affairs officials. Authorities said those detained were being processed under immigration legislation.

The government’s enforcement drive has also increasingly focused on employers. In August 2026, a multidisciplinary inspection in Gauteng identified foreign nationals reportedly lacking proper documentation at a construction site. The operation involved Home Affairs, police, labour officials and the City of Johannesburg, highlighting the government’s approach of addressing immigration and workplace compliance together.

The wider issue has become increasingly contentious in South Africa, where demands for stricter immigration enforcement have coincided with protests and rising tensions involving foreign nationals. Recent unrest in Johannesburg and Durban has included attacks on vehicles and businesses, prompting renewed concern about violence against migrants. President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned attacks and stressed that the law must be upheld.

The government maintains that immigration laws must be enforced while operations remain lawful and respect constitutional rights. Undocumented status and criminal conduct are not interchangeable, and each person’s circumstances must be handled through the applicable legal process.

Schreiber’s announcement did not provide a detailed breakdown of the latest Mayfair arrests, identify the employers arrested or specify when those detained would be deported. Those details were not available in the information accompanying the post.

Source: https://x.com/leon_schreib/status/2113584393675551085?s=46

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