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But an emotional Buthelezi said the new legislation was deeply flawed and he was only submitting it to meet a deadline set by the Constitutional Court.
Businesses have been pressing for a new immigration law to speed up recruitment of foreign professionals to fill gaps left by an exodus of thousands of skilled workers since the mid 1980s.
But Buthelezi warned that last minute changes made by the African National Congress (ANC) would prevent his department breaking a work permit log-jam which many business leaders cite as an obstacle to economic growth.
Buthelezi's department has spent five years working on the Immigration Bill.
The key change shifts the onus for determining the need for immigrant skills from the private sector to the government, which will have to assess and police quotas for various business and industry sectors.
"Rather than relying on and influencing market forces, this approach reflects the command economy philosophy," Buthelezi said in a heartfelt address to parliament.
"We will not be able to expedite the issuance of permits as envisaged...the provisions of this bill relating to work permits will have a massive impact on our macro-economic equation".
South Africa has endured a steady "brain drain" since the mid-1980s.
Business organisations estimate the skills deficit at anything up to 500 000 people.
Around 5 000 people have moved to South Africa every year since 1995, but businesses complain about the cost and bureaucratic delays involved in foreign recruitment.
Buthelezi said Thursday's changes to the 38-page bill would create a significant new burden on a department already accused of being slow and would need a massive injection of new funds.
He said he would have refused to sponsor the bill, but the Constitutional Court has ruled the existing apartheid-era legislation was discriminatory and set a June 2, 2002, deadline for a new law.
