The continuing story of Donald Trump offering asylum to Afrikaners sees South Africa arresting seven Kenyans working in the country illegally on US refugee applications.
As noted by the BBC, US President Donald Trump believes that white South Africans are being targeted by a “genocide” in the southern African country. However, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa denies this. According to South African authorities, on Wednesday they arrested and were ready to deport seven Kenyan nationals, working illegally at a center processing Afrikaner refugee applications for the US.
During his second term as president, Trump has drastically cut the number of refugees accepted in the United States. However, his administration has prioritized white Afrikaners, the descendants of Dutch, French and German settlers in South Africa, after they falsely claimed being targeted in a genocide.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, law enforcement in South Africa arrested the seven Kenyans on Tuesday in an operation at a processing center in Johannesburg. Its statement said that they had entered South Africa on tourist visas, and were working illegally “at a center processing the applications of so-called ‘refugees’ to the United States.” Due to the arrests and illegal actions in the country, the Kenyans will be unable to return to South Africa for five years.
WATCH | The seven Kenyans who were arrested for allegedly abusing their tourist visas by working in Johannesburg have been deported. Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber says South Africa will not allow people to abuse the immigration laws of the country. pic.twitter.com/d33sknKxy3
— SABC News (@SABCNews) December 17, 2025
According to the Department of Home Affairs, their applications to work in South Africa had previously been rejected, while saying that no American officials had been detained.
The US refugee admissions process is currently managed by RSC Africa, a Kenya-based company run by Church World Service, an American nonprofit. This is also managed by Amerikaners, a group set up by white South Africans to aid Afrikaners wishing to resettled in the US.
The Kenyans’ arrests come as relations between the Trump administration and South Africa have fractured over its policy of prioritizing Afrikaners. For his part, Trump is using his claim they are facing racial persecution to punish South Africa, by imposing high tariffs, cutting aid and making the Afrikaners one of the few groups allowed to seek refugee status in the US.
President Trump refused to attend the G20 Summit in South Africa in November, due to the Afrikaner issue. He has further said that the country will not be welcome when the US hosts the G20 event in 2026.
Meanwhile, Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesman, has said in a statement, “We are seeking immediate clarification from the South African government and expect full cooperation and accountability,” adding, “Interfering in our refugee operations is unacceptable.”
This latest incident will likely be seen as yet another incident in the deteriorating relationship between the Trump administration and South Africa. Jakkie Cilliers, founder of the Institute of Security Studies, a research institute based in Pretoria, stated, “The relationship has gone from bad to worse.”
Cilliers noted that the Trump administration’s position on Afrikaners has served to make relations more difficult, adding that South Africa needs to be careful in its response to maintain the country’s good economic ties with the United States.
“Maintaining your own dignity seems to be about the only approach, and hoping he’ll find some other target,” Cilliers added.
According to South African authorities, the arrest of the Kenyans forms part of the country’s efforts to curb illegal immigration. During the past year, the Ramaphosa government has intensified its crackdown on undocumented migrants, something that Trump should understand well.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, this latest raid reveals the country’s shared commitment with the United States in “combating illegal immigration and visa abuse in all its forms.”
“The presence of foreign officials apparently coordinating with undocumented workers naturally raises serious questions about intent and diplomatic protocol,” the statement added.
