The capitalist history of Johannesburg and the present migration discourse illustrate contradictions of a system hell bent on exploiting the city and its residents. This contradictory phenomenon is a product of the collusion between the Randlords and the colonial authorities. Illegal immigrants have always been preferred by the wealthy residents of Johannesburg. The evolution of the economics of Johannesburg has meant there is a demand for domestic workers and the informal sector, desperate migrant women are pressured to be the source of that cheap labour. Due to their legal liminality migrant women have to practice ukumaketha. The disregard of domestic work and the informal sector creates a culture of exploitation. The responses of the interviewed migrant Zimbabwean women highlight the various borders that they are compelled to cross, such as political/territorial boundaries and metaphorical/psychological boundaries in the host and sending context.