South Africa has accused the United States of employing Kenyan citizens without valid work permits at a centre handling refugee applications from white South Africans.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, seven Kenyan nationals were arrested after intelligence reports showed they entered the country on tourist visas and were working illegally at the facility. The individuals will be deported and barred from re-entering South Africa for five years.
In response, the US described the arrests as an “interference” with its refugee programme. A State Department spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, said Washington was seeking urgent clarification from South Africa and expected full cooperation, adding that disrupting US refugee operations was unacceptable.
The processing centre is operated by RSC Africa, a Kenya-based refugee support organisation run by Church World Service, and works with the US embassy in South Africa. No US officials were arrested, and authorities said the raid did not take place at a diplomatic site.
South Africa also raised concerns that foreign officials may have coordinated with undocumented workers and said it had contacted both the US and Kenyan governments to address the issue. Officials stressed that the operation reflected South Africa’s commitment to fighting illegal immigration and visa abuse.
The dispute comes amid strained relations between Pretoria and Washington. The US has sharply reduced its annual refugee intake from 125,000 to about 7,500 but says it will prioritise white Afrikaners, arguing they face persecution in South Africa. The South African government strongly denies these claims.
Former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged that Afrikaners are victims of a “genocide,” despite no evidence showing white farmers are targeted more than other groups. He offered Afrikaners refugee status after South Africa passed a law allowing land expropriation without compensation in limited cases—though the government says no land has yet been seized under the law.
About 50 Afrikaners have already travelled to the US, with others reportedly applying. The issue has further damaged diplomatic ties, following a tense White House meeting earlier this year and the US boycott of a recent G20 summit hosted by South Africa.
While South Africa says it is trying to repair relations, tensions remain high, with both sides trading accusations over immigration, sovereignty, and human rights.
