COVID-19 IMPACTS ON IMMIGRATION DETENTION: GLOBAL RESPONSES accessing detention facilities, as well as limited capacity to monitor such detention facilities. This proves that the preventative measures that were put in place in prisons and detention facilities were tailored only towards natural citizens of the state and further amplifies the dehumanization of migrants in South Africa. According to civil society organization Sonke Gender Justice, there have been concerns regarding detainees contracting COVID-19. When the first case was detected in March 2020, prisons and detention facilities were operating at roughly at 200-300% capacity, with inmates sharing beds or sleeping on the floor. These conditions are worsened by the occurrence of other issues in prisons such as assault, sexual violence, and high rates of HIV. Another prevalent example of how policies often disproportionally affect undocumented migrants is through birth registration. As mentioned earlier, the closure of RROs during lockdown has led to births not being able to be registered and with ports of entry being closed and many asylum seekers being detained, this poses challenges particularly for unmarried parents. On 1 September 2020, the Constitutional Court of South Africa heard an application from the Centre for Child Law to declare section 10 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 51 of 1992 invalid and unconstitutional as it excluded unmarried fathers from registering their children under the father’s surname in the absence of the mother or the mother’s consent. They contended that there is an insurmountable barrier if the mother’s consent or presence is required where it is impossible to do so. The court further highlighted how the DHA’s lack of recognition in the civil birth registration system exposes the children to the risk of being excluded from the educational system and from accessing social assistance and healthcare. CONCLUSION In the wake of a global health pandemic, rigid lockdown orders have highlighted concerns over the manner in which immigration detention is used as a tool to criminalize non-nationals at a time where no effective judicial oversight is possible. The surge of arrests and detention of non-nationals illustrates the urgent need to address and reform alternatives to detention for petty, administrative crimes. The continued harassment of non-nationals feeds into xenophobic biases that lead to the unnecessary and prolonged detention for migrants, along with its deplorable conditions, during a public health crisis that has claimed the lives of many. CHARNÉ TRACEY AND PALESA MALOISANE Lawyers for Human Rights Finally, there have been very few relief schemes available to nonnationals during the lockdown, which has resulted in an increased number of human rights concerns. Many South African citizens have qualified for economic relief schemes to assist with the economic consequences that the pandemic and subsequent lockdown have brought on. However, because migrants are not citizens, they have been excluded from the majority of effective relief. For example, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), the primary relief plan for workers who have lost their jobs due to the virus, prevents migrants from receiving any income, as it is limited to South African nationals. The immigrants that are employed by South African nationals are at the whim of their employers, where it is largely up to their discretion as to apply for the UIF. In conjunction with the harmful conditions migrants have had to live under during the pandemic, the systemic discrimination against migrants has resulted in deprivation of their most basic needs such as food, water, income, healthcare and most importantly, their liberty. 48 International Detention Coalition and Western Sydney University