Johannesburg, South Africa — South Africa’s Home Affairs Ministry reported on Wednesday that immigration and law enforcement officers conducted a raid on a center in Johannesburg, processing applications for the United States refugee program. During the operation, seven Kenyan nationals were arrested for working at the center illegally.
The center was handling applications under the Trump administration’s program, which prioritized refugee status in the U.
S. For white South Africans.
The Kenyans were employed at the center in collaboration with U.
S. Officials, despite having entered South Africa on tourist visas, which did not permit them to work, the Home Affairs Ministry stated.
No U. S. Officials were arrested in the raid, which the ministry emphasized was not a diplomatic site.
The incident is likely to escalate tensions between the U. S. And South Africa, particularly as President Donald Trump has been critical of the South African government over its treatment of the white Afrikaner minority and its foreign policy.
South Africa’s government maintains that white South Africans do not qualify for refugee status due to the absence of persecution but acknowledges their right to apply for relocation under the U. S. Program.
The South African Home Affairs Ministry did not immediately disclose who the Kenyans were working for but noted that the U. S. Government had contracted RSC Africa, a Kenya-based company operated by Church World Service, to process the refugee applications.
The ministry questioned why workers who entered the country on tourist visas were working at the refugee application site with U. S. Officials and has initiated formal diplomatic engagements with both the United States and Kenya to resolve the matter.
The seven Kenyan nationals were issued deportation orders and banned from entering South Africa for five years. Further details regarding the involvement of other parties or the next steps in this situation are expected to be released in the coming days.
