The National Assembly passed the Immigration Amendment Bill during its plenary sitting on Thursday.
This was revealed by parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo.
Mothapo said the Immigration Amendment Bill was introduced in Parliament on April 5 2024 by then Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.
“In 2017, the Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to amend the Immigration Act, as it was inconsistent with sections 12(1) and 35(2)(d) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
“Among other things, the Constitutional Court ruled that section 34(1)(b) of the Immigration Act was unconstitutional, since it did not require an automatic judicial review of a detention before 30 calendar days expire,” said Mothapo.
In addition, Mothapo said the Constitutional Court noted that section 34(1) does not require that a detainee be informed of the rights set out in section 35(2) of the Constitution, in particular, the right to legal representation by a lawyer of their own choice and to be assigned one at State expense if substantial injustice would otherwise result.
Swift justice
“In a supplementary judgment delivered on 30 October 2023, the Constitutional Court ordered that undocumented immigrants may only be detained if it is in the interests of justice and that detainees must be brought before a court within 48 hours,” said Mothapo.
He said the Constitutional Court ordered the Act to be amended within 24 months.
Mothapo said Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs heard various oral submissions from civil society, as part of ensuring extensive public consultation on the Bill.
He said public hearings were conducted on February 11 and 18 2025.
“Following deliberations on the bill on 6 and 20 May 2025 and on 3 June 2025, the committee instructed the Parliamentary Legal Services and the Office of the State Law Advisor to prepare a list of proposed amendments to the bill.
“The proposed amendments were presented to and approved by the committee on 10 June 2025. The committee subsequently conducted a clause-by-clause deliberation on the bill and adopted the report on the bill on 22 July 2025,” said Mothapo.
He said the Bill will be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.
