Honourable Members,   The most important intervention to tackle the problem of illegal immigration is to secure our borders.   The newly-established Border Management Authority hasdeployed 600 border guards at the vulnerable segments of our land border to prevent illegal migrants that are undocumented and inadmissible from entering the country.   The Border Management Authority has demonstrated the effectiveness of modern technology like drones and body cameras in creating a more secure, digital border environment.   Phase one of the Electronic Travel Authorisation system is currently being rolled out for G20 delegates.   Over 200 applications have already been seamlessly processed by this new system, which uses machine learning to verify the authenticity of documents and facial recognition to secure the immigration process.   Following the stabilisation phase around the G20, Electronic Travel Authorisation will be opened for tourist visas and to other visa categories. This will ultimately lead to the automation of entry-and-exit processes at our borders, including at land borders.   This will eliminate the space for the abuse of paper-based and manual processes through biometric verification and digital transformation.   Another area of work is to detect, apprehend and deport illegal migrants in the country.   This is mainly done through intelligence-driven joint operations planned and executed by the Department of Home Affairs Inland Inspectorate and other structures. These structures are coordinated and account to the Inter-Ministerial Consultative Committee on Border Management and the NATJOINTS.   In the past financial year, over 51,000 illegal immigrants were deported.   Engagements with countries whose nationals are frequent transgressors are ongoing through discussions with embassies, and these matters are also included as an Agenda item on Bi-National Commissions. This is to ensure that the implication of illegal migration is understood.   Illegal immigration does place a strain on our social services and undermines our national security.   We should not allow vigilante acts targeting foreign nationals as these do not solve the problem and theyundermine the rule of law.   Instead, we need to address this challenge by strengthening the enforcement of our laws and the resourcing of our border management capabilities.   #RamaphosaQandA(Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦)