{"id":98290,"date":"2025-06-07T20:05:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T18:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=98290"},"modified":"2025-06-07T20:05:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T18:05:30","slug":"actionsa-proposes-constitutional-changes-to-restrict-undocumented-immigrants-access-to-basic-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/actionsa-proposes-constitutional-changes-to-restrict-undocumented-immigrants-access-to-basic-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"ActionSA Proposes Constitutional Changes to Restrict Undocumented Immigrants’ Access to Basic Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read
\n07 June 2025 | 16:20 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

ActionSA\u2019s Athol Trollip calls for constitutional changes to prioritise South African citizens in access to housing, healthcare, and education, amid growing debate over undocumented immigration and state resources.<\/p><\/div>\n

ActionSA has submitted a proposal to amend South Africa\u2019s Constitution to limit undocumented foreign nationals\u2019 access to basic rights, including housing, healthcare, and education. The move, led by party Member of Parliament Athol Trollip, has sparked national debate on how best to manage immigration and access to public services.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Radio Islam International<\/a>, Trollip stated that while several laws address illegal immigration and a Border Management Agency exists, these mechanisms are not working effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur borders are so porous that people come across our borders on a daily basis,\u201d he said, estimating \u201canywhere between five and ten million plus illegal immigrants in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trollip emphasised that ActionSA\u2019s proposals are not aimed at legal immigrants but specifically target undocumented individuals. He argued that the South African Constitution\u2019s post-apartheid intentions may need revisiting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe noble intentions of our preamble were indeed very noble post-apartheid. But it meant South Africans. It didn\u2019t mean, you know, 10 million undocumented illegal immigrants,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The party is requesting that Parliament consider changes to the Constitution\u2019s preamble and sections 26, 27, and 29 of the Bill of Rights, which relate to access to housing, healthcare, and education. Trollip cited resource strain, particularly in Gauteng, where he claims that undocumented migrants make up a significant portion of patients in public hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Gauteng, we have documentation that says up to 70 percent of the people accessing health care\u2026 are illegal foreigners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also referred to a recent Constitutional Court ruling affirming the right of all children, regardless of legal status, to attend school. A decision he believes needs to be re-evaluated in light of local capacity constraints.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t have school desks occupied by the children of illegal immigrants, while South Africans cannot get access to education,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trollip insisted the proposal is not about denying help outright, but about establishing a hierarchy of access.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not saying that we will turn a blind eye to somebody suffering, but it must be prioritised. You can\u2019t have illegal immigrants at the front of the queue.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about concerns that the amendment could fuel xenophobic sentiment, Trollip responded:<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s their problem. We are unashamedly South African, pro-South Africans. We support legal immigration, but we\u2019re totally against illegal immigration.\u201d<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen whether the proposal will gain traction in Parliament. Trollip believes there is growing political support for tighter immigration control across party lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019ll be surprised that we will get quite considerable support for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposal enters public discourse at a time when South Africa faces significant socio-economic pressures. While ActionSA’s intentions are clear, the broader implications of amending foundational constitutional rights will likely remain a topic of national concern and legal scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Radio Islam International<\/a> with Moulana Habib Bobat and Athol Trollip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 07 June 2025 | 16:20 CAT ActionSA has submitted a proposal to amend South Africa\u2019s Constitution to limit undocumented foreign nationals\u2019 access to basic rights, including housing, healthcare, and education. The move, led by party Member of Parliament Athol Trollip, has sparked national debate on how best to manage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":98291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,5451,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-political","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ActionSA.jpg?fit=217%2C232&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pzk","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 16:49:31","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}