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Despite all the migration policies implemented in South Africa and the world at large, the illicit immigrants continue to suffer in the hands of the host communities. This paper seek to address the challenges and experiences of illegal immigrants in South Africa and the hostility by the host communities. In this qualitative study, linguistic data was collected through the focus group discussions with illicit immigrants from different countries in the African continent as well as the blinded focus group with communities in Limpopo province. The aim of the study was to explore the hostile environment that the illicit immigrants find themselves in while in South Africa and the problem of integration with the host communities. Findings from this study revealed that the illicit immigrants continue to become a problem in the receiving communities, and this is because they are snatching job opportunities for the locals since they do not mind exercising cheap labour, that’s is why there is tension between them and the locals. Most employers prioritise employing illicit immigrants instead of the locals. Furthermore, the participants indicated that the immigrants continue to temper with job security in the host communities. The researcher conducted two focus group discussions, one consisted of illicit immigrants from different African countries like Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Burundi, and the other focus group with the locals as blind group discussion. This is conceptualized as fear or black-on-black hatred which is also famously known as Afrophobia

This study sought to close this gap by exploring the xenophobic experiences of illegal migrant youths in Musina town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Nine illegal migrant youths were purposively and conveniently selected to participate in this study. Data was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically through the assistance of the Nvivo software. The objective of this study was achieved through the guidance of narrative theory. The findings of the study reveal that illegal migrant youth in Musina Town experience violent attacks and derogatory name-calling from the local citizens. The findings further reveal that illegal migrant youths are experiencing blame-shifting by the local citizens. Harassment in healthcare facilities and employment places is also revealed as xenophobic experiences of illegal migrant youths in South Africa. It is recommended that the South African government should develop educative and awareness campaigns to respond to xenophobia in the country. It is also recommended that the security at the border gates need to be tightened to mitigate the influx of illegal migrants into the country.