Control over access to territory is a crucial component of contemporary immigration policy. However, recent research, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, questions whether rulers are in control of the state’s territorial strategy. This study adds to these critiques through an analysis of the South African attempt to switch from external border controls to internal exclusion mechanisms in the period from 1998 to 2004. Drawing upon original data on immigration policy, obtained through a combination of key-informant interviews and freedom of information requests, the work shows that bureaucratic incompetence and disorganisation limited South Africa’s capacity to transform its immigration enforcement regime. The finding that policing of immigration law has been indirectly driven by ad hoc, individual, and localised agenda suggest the need to reframe our analyses of territory in South Africa and beyond.
