He submitted the letter to the Human Rights Commission.
Gbaffou argued that if documented, immigrants would cease accessing services illegally and abusing them as a result.
He said many immigrants were facing challenges in accessing schools, institutions of higher learning and health institutions, among other things.
“Among them are asylum seekers who, despite being determined to legalise their stay in this country and contribute to both its bid to maintain law and order, as well as its economy, cannot do so because they are turned away at different refugee reception offices.
“Many immigrants are therefore forced to use public services illegally,” he wrote in the letter.
“Why are we making it so difficult, why don’t you make sure that everyone has access to basic services and they are accounted for?
“Some immigrants are forced to sleep with notes under their mattress because they don’t have documents, they can’t access a bank because a bank says they are illegal,” he said.
Gbaffou said they acknowledged the efforts made by the government to improve the lives of immigrants in the country by granting Zimbabweans and people from Lesotho special permits.
“We believe this gesture is being diluted by the number of immigrants who are still left without any form of documentation,” he said.
The lack of accurate figures on how many undocumented immigrants are in the country and the role of the media in reporting on immigrants and utterances by public officials also came under sharp focus at the hearing.
Making its submission the International Detention Coalition’s Kayan Leung from Lawyers for Human Rights submitted that immigrants should be allowed freedom of movement and enjoy protection from arbitrary arrest and detention as stipulated under various frameworks.
Leung said children should be treated according to their best interests and should never be detained for migration purposes.
Leung told the hearing that there were alternatives to detentions that were cheaper when compared to detention, citing various options.

Source: ANN7