The government's negative posturing against illegal immigrants is a knee-jerk reaction towards a situation that it has mismanaged for decades.

The solution is simple; the government must accept the fact that it had and still has no clue about the importance of strong immigration laws and visa requirements. Once this is addressed, cross-border infiltrations will cease.

Document all those living in SA illegally, get them onto our tax base, and allow them to continue living here, encouraging them to add value to our economy. They are valuable in so many ways, doing jobs that ordinary South Africans shy away from... gardeners, waiters, cooks, painters, etc.

Live and let live; they are here now, and sending them back would be a travesty. All the “foreigners” that I know have a strong work ethic, and are grateful to be given the opportunity to give themselves and their families a better life.

Peter Bachtis, Lakefield, Benoni