South Africa Data Shows Immigrants Made Up 3% of Arrests, 1.2% for Violent Crime
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 21
South Africa Data Shows Immigrants Made Up 3% of Arrests, 1.2% for Violent Crime
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 21
Summary
South African police data provided to the New York Times show foreign nationals accounted for 3% of all arrests over the past five years and 1.2% of violent-crime arrests.
About 5% of South Africa's population is foreign-born, making the arrest figures lower than immigrants' share of the population and undercutting a central claim behind anti-immigrant rhetoric.
That rhetoric has spread as migrants are accused of driving crime, taking jobs and straining public services in Africa's largest economy, which hosts about 3 million documented immigrants and many undocumented ones.
The backlash has had severe consequences: foreigners have been driven from homes and businesses, physically attacked, and tens of thousands have fled South Africa.