Key rules under the Constitution and Promotion of Administration of Justice Act (PAJA): i. The processes of arrest, detention and deportation must respect individuals’ rights and be fair, lawful, and reasonable. ii. Detainees have the right to:      Be told in writing that their rights are impaired (explain) by administrative action, Be promptly informed why they are being detained and that they have a right to consult with any legal professional they choose, Challenge the legality of their detention in person, Have their human dignity respected at all times, including the provision of adequate accommodations, nutrition, reading material, and medical treatment, Communicate with and have visits from a spouse, partner, next of kin, religious counsellor, or medical professional. Other legal provisions:     South African law does not require the detention of asylum seekers, refugees or illegal foreigners (Refugees Act 130 of 1998, South African Immigration Act). Officers are supposed to use discretion in deciding to detain people, and are mandated to do so in favour of liberty (South African Immigration Act). The Chilren’s Act requires that unaccompanied minors, even if undocumented or illegally in the country, be placed in temporary places of safety – not detention centers like Lindela (Centre for Child Law and Another v Minister of Home Affairs and Other 2005 (6) SA). The DHA is legally required to consider asylum claims of a family as a whole to prevent families from being torn apart. “I have to get a job and raise my children even if it means I have to get arrested.” Arrests and Initial Detention The arrest and initial detention process has a pivotal effect on the deportation process as a whole. How thoroughly and justly the law is administered at this stage influences the number of wrongly incarcerated detainees. This in turn would have an impact on the costs of detention and deportation and increase the number of people who would be eligible to file civil claims against the state. If it could accurately be said that all detainees have been verified and given the opportunity to appeal their arrest, it would reduce the pressure and more importantly, cost of the detention and deportation process. The research pertaining to the arrests and initial detention of alleged illegal immigrants revealed that this was not the case. Alarming trends of disregard for the law was observed in the verification/screening process. The method of identifying so called 21