Botswana continues to experience an increasing number of economic refugees from neighboring countries who enter through ungazetted points of entry in their quest to look for job opportunities.
Unemployment in neighbouring  countries  has been indicated as one of the contributors towards the increasing number o f illegal immigrants in the recent four months where more than twelve thousand illegally immigrants were  repatriated back to their countries.
 Department of Immigration, Director Mabuse Pule says that they have repatriated more than twelve thousand illegal immigrants  back to their native countries in January and April this year.  Pule  stated that most of the illegal immigrants were economic refugees who entered the country looking for employment opportunities .
Pule emphasised that Botswana  continues to lose money towards repatriating illegal immigrants.
According to Pule the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs  sent more than twelve thousand illegal immigrants mostly from Zimbabwe at a cost close to P300 000.
He said that the increasing illegal immigrants were giving the government sleepless nights.
He however indicated that they are still devising plans to address the issue of illegal immigrants.  He said that one hundred minors under the age of eighteen years were among the twelve thousand illegal immigrants repatriated.
He also stated that some of the illegal immigrants were declared prohibited immigrants. He said that 112 were declared illegal immigrants after serving their sentences in prisons meanwhile others were declared prohibited immigrants by the Office of President.
He said that those who were declared prohibited immigrants through the OP office were from different countries such as China, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, South African, Uganda and Namibia.
