Between Informality and (Il)legality: Congolese Migrants’ Survival Mechanisms in South Africa

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with Congolese in Johannesburg, this research explains some of the impact of the discriminatory immigration laws in South Africa that expose refugees to various forms of precarity. I show that precarity becomes a driving force for these people to engage in illegal or unauthorized activities, and I analyze how Congolese refugees attempt to obtain legal status and adapt to intensified discriminatory immigration policies and practices. I argue that the criminalization of migration creates a paradox: it subjects migrants to increased vulnerability due to restrictive policies, but it also empowers them to assert their agency in response. Yet due to the generally illegal nature of their chosen activities, migrants are exposed to more exploitation, perpetuating their criminalization and vulnerability. I demonstrate the adverse outcomes of government antimigrant policies that push people into precarity without necessarily endorsing the illegal activities migrants may employ.