PRETORIA, South Africa — The South African government has formally accused the United States of utilizing undocumented foreign labour at a facility dedicated to processing refugee applications for white South Africans.
The Department of Home Affairs confirmed that seven Kenyan nationals were arrested on Tuesday following a targeted enforcement operation in Johannesburg.
According to a government statement, the raid was initiated after intelligence revealed that these individuals “had recently entered South Africa on tourist visas and had illegally taken up work” at the center.
The incident highlights a deepening rift between Pretoria and the Trump administration. While the U.S. has significantly reduced its global refugee intake, slashing the annual ceiling from 125,000 to a historic low of 7,500, it has designated the white Afrikaner community as a priority group.
The U.S. maintains that these descendants of Dutch and French settlers face systemic persecution, a position that South Africa’s government has categorically dismissed.
The arrested Kenyans, who had previously been denied formal work permits, were found “engaging in work despite only being in possession of tourist visas, in clear violation of their conditions of entry into the country,” according to the Home Affairs statement. They now face immediate deportation and a five-year ban from re-entering South Africa.
Despite the friction, South Africa framed the law enforcement action as an example of the commitment the nation shares “with the United States to combating illegal immigration and visa abuse in all its forms.”
Officials emphasized that “formal diplomatic engagements” have been initiated with both Washington and Nairobi to address the breach of protocol.
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Key details from the operation include:
- No U.S. officials were arrested, and the raid did not occur on a diplomatic site.
- Two private entities, RSC Africa (a Kenya-based NGO) and Amerikaners (a South African info-platform), are responsible for the application processing.
- Church World Service (CWS) operates RSC Africa, which was contracted by the U.S. government for this mission.
President Donald Trump has frequently asserted that Afrikaners are victims of targeted violence and land seizures. This narrative intensified after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act of 2025, which allows for land acquisition without compensation in specific, albeit rare, circumstances to address the legacy of apartheid-era land distribution.
The South African government continues to stress that no land has been seized under the new law and maintains that there is no evidence suggesting white farmers are victimized at higher rates than other racial groups in the country.
