South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has arrested seven Kenyan nationals during a raid on a centre in Johannesburg that processes applications for people seeking resettlement in the United States. Officials said the operation targeted suspected immigration violations and was carried out with support from other law enforcement agencies.
According to the department, intelligence reports indicated that several Kenyans had recently entered South Africa on tourist visas but were working at the refugee processing centre in defiance of their visa conditions. Earlier applications for proper work visas for Kenyan staff at the facility had been rejected, but the individuals allegedly took up employment regardless.
During the raid, authorities said they found seven Kenyan nationals actively engaged in work despite only holding visitor visas. All seven were arrested, issued deportation orders and told they are banned from re-entering South Africa for five years.
The facility is linked to a US-backed refugee resettlement programme that has become politically sensitive in South Africa. The scheme has reportedly focused on processing applications for white South Africans, particularly Afrikaners, seeking relocation to the United States on claims of racial persecution, a narrative the South African government has criticised as misleading.
Information published by the US side indicates that refugee processing work in the region involves Amerikaners, a group led by white South Africans, and RSC Africa, a support centre run from Kenya by Church World Service. South African officials said intelligence placed the seven Kenyans at a centre connected to this network.
Home Affairs stressed that the raid was a routine enforcement action under domestic immigration law. The department said no US officials were detained, the location was not a diplomatic site and no members of the public or prospective refugees were harassed during the operation.
Authorities added that the case forms part of a broader clampdown on abuse of South Africa’s visa and immigration system. The government says deportations have increased over the past 18 months as it tries to address long-standing concerns about illegal employment and overstaying by foreign nationals.
The incident has drawn in both Nairobi and Washington, with the deportations expected to feature in ongoing discussions on migration controls and the handling of refugee resettlement programmes in southern Africa. Rights advocates have called for transparency to ensure that enforcement measures do not undermine legitimate protection needs while immigration laws are applied.
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