In a move that has intensified already strained diplomatic relations, South African authorities arrested seven Kenyan nationals in Johannesburg this week for working illegally at a center processing refugee applications for the United States. The operation, carried out by the Department of Home Affairs in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, targeted a facility involved in vetting applications for white Afrikaners seeking resettlement in the US—a program that has sparked controversy and international debate.
According to IOL News and statements from the South African government, the arrests took place on December 16 and 17, 2025, following intelligence reports that Kenyan nationals had recently entered South Africa on tourist visas but were found employed at the refugee processing center. The Department of Home Affairs confirmed, "seven Kenyan nationals were discovered engaging in work despite only being in possession of tourist visas, in clear violation of their conditions of entry into the country." These individuals were detained, issued deportation orders, and banned from re-entering South Africa for five years.
The center at the heart of the raid was processing applications under a US government program to accept white Afrikaners as refugees. This initiative, launched by President Donald Trump’s administration in May 2025, offered refugee status to the minority Afrikaner community, citing what it called discrimination and even "genocide"—claims that the South African government has categorically denied. Pretoria has consistently rejected the notion that Afrikaners face systematic persecution, pointing out that the country’s high crime rates affect all communities, and that affirmative action laws are designed to address historic inequalities stemming from apartheid.
The US program, which has upended decades of American refugee and humanitarian policy, set a ceiling of 7,500 refugees for the 2026 fiscal year, according to a formal Presidential Determination published in the Federal Register on September 30, 2025. Most of those coveted slots were reserved for Afrikaners from South Africa, a sharp drop from the more than 100,000 refugees admitted annually under President Joe Biden’s administration. The first group of around 50 Afrikaners reportedly arrived in the US on a chartered plane in May, with others following on commercial flights.
What raised eyebrows in Pretoria was the US government’s decision to engage Kenyans from a Christian non-governmental organization based in Kenya to help fast-track the processing of these refugee applications in South Africa. The Department of Home Affairs revealed that previous applications for these Kenyan nationals to legally perform vetting work for US-bound refugees had been declined. Yet, the individuals were found working at the center, prompting the intelligence-driven raid.
"The operation was carried out lawfully and in line with procedures that have seen deportations intensify over the past 18 months, as the government seeks to curb long-standing abuse of the immigration and visa system," the Department of Home Affairs stated. They emphasized that no US officials were arrested and that the operation was not conducted at a diplomatic site. Additionally, the department assured the public that no prospective refugees were harassed during the raid.
The incident has sent ripples through diplomatic channels. South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation has initiated formal engagements with both the United States and Kenya to address the matter. According to the Associated Press, US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott responded by saying that "interfering in US refugee operations was unacceptable," and that Washington was "seeking immediate clarification from the South African government and expect full cooperation and accountability."
South African officials, meanwhile, expressed concern over the presence of foreign officials allegedly coordinating with undocumented workers at the center. The Department of Home Affairs noted that this "raises serious questions about intent and diplomatic protocol." The statement added that South Africa and the United States share a commitment to "combating illegal immigration and visa abuse in all its forms," but highlighted the need for proper adherence to local laws and international norms.
The broader context of the raid is a backdrop of worsening US-South Africa relations. Since President Trump took office, tensions have mounted over a series of policy disagreements. In March 2025, the Trump administration expelled South Africa’s ambassador and imposed 30-percent trade tariffs on South African goods. The diplomatic rift deepened further when Washington boycotted South Africa’s G20 summit in November and, upon assuming the G20 presidency in December, announced that South Africa would not be invited to any events it hosted during its year-long term.
The US resettlement processing in South Africa is officially managed by the Resettlement Support Center (RSC) Africa, operated by the US-based Church World Service. However, the involvement of Kenyan nationals from a Christian NGO in the vetting process has added a new layer of complexity—and controversy—to the situation. The South African government’s decision to deny work permits for these individuals, followed by their discovery working illegally, has heightened suspicions about the operation's transparency and intent.
For its part, the Trump administration has repeatedly asserted that white Afrikaners are being persecuted in post-apartheid South Africa, citing farm attacks and economic empowerment laws requiring black representation in business. Pretoria, however, counters that these claims are exaggerated and politically motivated. It argues that the majority of violent crime victims in South Africa are black, and that policies aimed at redressing apartheid-era disparities are both legal and necessary.
While the seven Kenyan nationals now face deportation and a five-year ban, the incident has left lingering questions about the broader US refugee program and the diplomatic fallout it continues to generate. The South African government’s swift legal response underscores its determination to crack down on visa abuses, but also its sensitivity to perceived interference in its sovereign affairs.
With the United States maintaining its sharply reduced refugee quota and prioritizing Afrikaner applicants, and with South Africa pushing back against what it sees as unfounded accusations and external meddling, the episode marks another chapter in a relationship marked by increasing mistrust. Whether formal diplomatic talks can ease the tension remains to be seen, but for now, the arrest and expulsion of the Kenyan workers have put a spotlight on the tangled intersection of immigration enforcement, humanitarian policy, and international politics.
As the dust settles, both nations are left to reckon with the consequences—legal, political, and human—of a refugee policy that has become a flashpoint in their already contentious relationship.
