South African Churches Reject Anti-Immigrant Violence
South African pastors are pushing back against a wave of anti-immigrant attacks that left at least three people dead and thousands displaced. Church leaders are providing food, shelter, and legal support to migrants while wrestling with how to respond to illegal immigration. The violence, driven by unemployment above 30 percent, intensified after anti-immigration groups set a June 30 deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave.
South African churches are speaking out against a surge of anti-immigrant violence that has swept the country since spring 2026.
Anti-immigration groups, including one called March and March, organized street protests and issued a June 30 deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave. The unrest left at least three people dead, dozens of shacks burned, and thousands of migrants displaced. More than 1,000 Nigerians signed up for government repatriation.
Archbishop Sithembele Sipuka, president of the South African Council of Churches, issued a pastoral letter titled "Do not turn away the stranger," urging congregations to provide food, shelter, and medical care to those affected.
The Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa raised a special fund to provide safe homes and clothing for migrants. In KwaZulu-Natal, churches held dialogue meetings between local residents and foreign nationals to reduce tensions.
Not all church leaders agreed. Pastor ST Dlamini, who spoke at an April protest, cited John 10:1 to argue that undocumented immigrants were "thieves" straining the country's infrastructure.
The South African government increased deportations in July, removing 53,000 undocumented immigrants in a single month. More than 80 percent were from Malawi.
Unemployment in South Africa exceeds 30 percent. Critics say politicians use immigrants as scapegoats for failures in governance and public services.
Samson Matabaro, who immigrated from Burundi as a refugee in 2002, runs Key Ministry International in Pietermaritzburg. He provides food, blankets, and pastoral visits to migrants sheltering in public buildings. "God remains their refuge even in times of fear," he said.
For many immigrants, the situation is dire. Nwanyieze, a Nigerian woman who has lived in South Africa for a decade without documentation, closed her restaurant for several days after a customer warned her to stay low. She said her local church shared many views of the anti-immigration activists, so she stopped attending.
"In the end home is home, and I will go back," she said.
