Over 900 Arrested During South African Anti-Migrant Protests. Here’s What to Know

Days before Tuesday’s protests, the South African government reported that more than 9,000 Malawian nationals and about 3,000 Zimbabweans had been repatriated or deported through the Beitbridge Port of Entry over a five-day period ahead of the organization’s deadline.

Human rights groups including Amnesty International South Africa have argued that while citizens have the right to peacefully protest, migrants are being used as scapegoats for the South African government’s mismanagement of public resources and services.

“Marches in full swing across South Africa today, on the deadline given by anti-migrant group March for March, are a result of the country’s failing immigration systems that leave thousands of people undocumented and living in limbo, including refugees and asylum seekers,” the group wrote on social media Tuesday.

“This together with persistent inequalities and socioeconomic exclusion rooted in the legacies of apartheid go far beyond bureaucracy, feeding public frustration and creating fertile ground for misinformation,” the statement continued.  “No one should be scapegoated as a result of governmental failures.”