Making asylum seekers more vulnerable in South Africa: The negative effects of hostile asylum policies on livelihoods

Abstract

In post-apartheid South Africa, migration policies and legislation have left critical issues such as social cohesion and integration unsolved. Furthermore, the inability to reconcile the national interest of maintaining borders’ integrity with respecting moral and legal obligations has placed the asylum system under tremendous stress. Drawing from secondary sources, as well as qualitative interviews, this paper explores the development of new asylum policies aimed at curtailing asylum seekers’ right to work in South Africa. The study’s findings provide support for the conclusions of earlier research that highlights the consequences of hostile policies and practices for asylum seekers’ livelihoods. The author argues that curtailments on asylum seekers’ right to work will have many possible socio-economic ramifications. In the immediate term, the legislation seeks to inhibit asylum seekers from engaging in self-employment, while in the long run it may achieve the undesired effect of producing more precarious forms of livelihood.