超过17.8万名非洲移民在近几个月内突然离开或被驱逐出南非[1]。其中，超过11.5万人返回津巴布韦（自5月底以来），超过5.6万人返回马拉维[1]。这场大规模移民潮由南非当局对非法移民的打击和有时暴力的反移民抗议共同引发[1]。南非政府自4月以来已正式驱逐约1.9万人[1]，并于6月30日举行全国范围反非法移民示威[1]。
此次事件引发严重的人道主义忧虑。马拉维报告称近4000名5岁以下儿童返回该国[1]，而津巴布韦非政府组织估计超过11000名儿童在7月中旬前返回津巴布韦[1]。马拉维政府称11名莫桑比克人在南非遭袭击身亡[1]。与此同时，被迫离校的儿童和中断艾滋病治疗的患者面临额外困境[1]。
为应对局势，南非部署约6300名检查员进行全国工作场所检查[1]。总统拉马福萨随后承诺采取进一步行动，包括加强边境安全、建立新移民法庭以及对非法雇用移民者施加更严厉处罚[1]。
More than 178,000 African migrants have left South Africa in recent months, either fleeing voluntarily or facing deportation as authorities intensify enforcement against undocumented immigration [1]. Of those who departed, more than 115,000 returned to Zimbabwe since late May, while over 56,000 traveled back to Malawi [1]. South African authorities have formally deported approximately 19,000 people since April [1].
The mass exodus has been triggered by a combination of official action and civil unrest. South Africa deployed roughly 6,300 inspectors to conduct nationwide workplace raids [1], and a national anti-illegal immigration demonstration was held on June 30 [1]. These efforts have been accompanied by sometimes violent anti-immigrant protests. The Malawian government has reported that 11 Mozambicans were killed in attacks in South Africa [1].
The humanitarian toll has drawn international concern. Malawi documented nearly 4,000 children under age five returning to the country [1], while Zimbabwean civil society organizations estimated that more than 11,000 children had returned by mid-July [1]. In response, South African President Ramaphosa has pledged to strengthen border security, establish new immigration courts, and impose stricter penalties on those who illegally employ migrants [1].