South African authorities arrested seven Kenyan nationals for allegedly working illegally at centres processing refugee applications for a US resettlement programme prioritising white Afrikaners and ordered their deportation with five-year re-entry bans. The raid has ignited a diplomatic row with Washington after the US warned that interference in refugee operations is "unacceptable," while South Africa disputes reports that American officials were arrested. The arrests come amid wider tensions over the Trump administration's resettlement policy and longstanding disputes between the two countries.
South Africa Deports Seven Kenyans After Raid on Afrikaner Refugee Processing Centres — Sparks Diplomatic Row With US
Relations between South Africa and the US have deteriorated sharply this year [Evan Vucci/AP]
South African authorities have arrested and ordered the deportation of seven Kenyan nationals found to be working illegally at centres that processed refugee applications for a controversial US resettlement programme prioritising white Afrikaners.
The arrests in Johannesburg followed intelligence that the Kenyans entered South Africa on tourist visas and took up employment after the Home Affairs Department had previously refused work permits for those positions. The seven have been banned from re-entering South Africa for five years and are subject to deportation proceedings.
Diplomatic fallout
The operation has triggered a fresh diplomatic dispute between Pretoria and Washington amid broader tensions over US President Donald Trump’s claims that white South Africans face "genocide" and state-backed persecution. The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation said the presence of foreign officials working with undocumented staff "raises serious questions about intent and diplomatic protocol," and has opened formal talks with both the US and Kenya.
The US State Department told CNN that "interfering in our refugee operations is unacceptable" and said it would seek immediate clarification. CNN also reported that two US government employees were briefly detained during the raid; South African authorities have disputed that any American officials were arrested.
Who was involved
The detained Kenyans had been employed at processing centres linked to Amerikaners, a group led by white South Africans, and RSC Africa, a Kenya-based refugee support organisation operated by Church World Service. Those organisations have been handling applications for Mr. Trump’s resettlement programme, which has resulted in small numbers of white South Africans relocating to the US this year.
Policy context and responses
Mr. Trump launched the resettlement initiative in February by executive order titled "Addressing Egregious Actions Of The Republic Of South Africa," cutting US aid and prioritising Afrikaner refugees he says suffer government-sponsored discrimination. In September he set a US refugee ceiling of 7,500 for 2026, with a significant portion reportedly reserved for white South Africans.
South Africa strongly rejects claims of systemic persecution of white citizens. Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said there is no evidence to support allegations of white persecution and noted that Afrikaners remain among the country’s most economically privileged groups. Major Afrikaner organisations including AfriForum and the Solidarity Movement have also rejected the refugee offer, while the Orania enclave said Afrikaners "do not want to be refugees."
Observers have criticised the selective nature of the US programme. Scott Lucas, professor of US and international politics at University College Dublin’s Clinton Institute, told Al Jazeera the policy reflects a "perverse honesty" in favouring applicants with connections and shared identity: "If you’re white and you’ve got connections you get in. If you’re not white, forget about it."
Wider deterioration in relations
Ties between Washington and Pretoria have deteriorated this year: the US expelled South Africa’s ambassador in March, boycotted the Johannesburg G20 summit in November, and excluded South Africa from participation in the 2026 Miami G20, prompting South Africa to call the exclusion "an affront to multilateralism." The recent arrests add a new point of contention as officials from all three countries engage in diplomatic consultations.
South Africa has emphasized that it will pursue formal clarifications and consultations with both the US and Kenyan governments as the deportation process proceeds.
