Border Management Authority (BMA) commissioner Michael Masiapato has clarified the protocols for handling children intercepted at ports of entry and border law enforcement areas.
During Easter operations at the Beitbridge Port of Entry, several unaccompanied minors and adults were stopped. Earlier this week, about 12 minors were intercepted while attempting to enter South Africa illegally.
Masiapato explained that the process of dealing with minors is significantly more complex than standard deportation for adults.
When children are intercepted by the BMA, they are immediately handed over to the department of social development (DSD).
“The department of social development will place them in a place of safety,” Masiapato said in an interview with eNCA.
The South African DSD then co-ordinates with the social development department of the child’s home country to verify the identity of the biological parents.
Both departments compare records to ensure that the individual claiming the child is the legal guardian or parent.
Masiapato emphasised that South Africa will only release a child once the home country’s authorities have officially confirmed the parental relationship.
Once verified, the children are reconciled with their families.
Masiapato added that children are never deported without confirmed parental identification, a measure strictly enforced to prevent human trafficking.
“The reason we do it this way is because if someone claims a child is theirs, we have no immediate mechanism to prove it,” Masiapato explained. “Only the social development department of the home country can provide that assurance.”
He further noted that if a mother is intercepted with a child but lacks documentation, the BMA cannot simply take her word for it. “We cannot allow an adult to leave with a child if we cannot determine the relationship. To do otherwise might mean we have facilitated child trafficking.”
He said the verification process is efficient and is usually settled within 24 hours.
Masiapato explained the process for adults. He said individuals may be intercepted while attempting to enter illegally or if they are caught in areas outside the official port.
The deportation steps for adults include: the individual is taken to the port, fingerprints are taken and recorded, and the individual is “V-listed” on the system and declared undesirable, resulting in a five-year ban from entering the country. The individual is handed over to immigration officers of the adjacent country.
“They [the adjacent country] must receive them and maintain a record of the deported individuals.”
TimesLIVE
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