Parliament's Home Affairs committee edging closer to finalising Immigration Amendment Bill
On Tuesday, the committee approved an amendment to the bill that will allow those taken into custody to be released pending further investigation.
FILE: Department of Home Affairs. Picture: Sethembiso Zulu/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - Parliament’s Home Affairs committee is edging closer to finalising an Immigration Amendment Bill that seeks to improve the treatment of foreign nationals suspected of being in the country illegally.
On Tuesday, the committee approved an amendment to the bill that will allow those taken into custody to be released pending further investigation.
The bill affords foreign nationals the right to be brought before court within 48 hours of an arrest for the purposes of deportation.
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In response to public hearings earlier this year appealing for the more humane treatment of women and particularly children detained on suspicion of being in the country illegally, the committee on Tuesday made an amendment to allow for their release.
But this will be under strict conditions as the Department of Home Affairs’ legal advisor, Advocate Moses Malakate explained, “The immigration officer must ensure that all the factors that have been listed have been considered, and they will also appear on the release form what has been included in the decision.”