South Africa Deports Seven Kenyans Caught Working Illegally at U.S.-Linked Refugee Centre

Kenya, 17 December 2025 - South Africa has deported seven Kenyan nationals found working without permits at a refugee processing centre in Johannesburg, a development that has drawn in both Nairobi and Washington and reignited debate over migration controls.

The group had travelled to South Africa on tourist visas but were later discovered working at a facility linked to a controversial United States refugee resettlement programme. Their applications for legal work visas had previously been denied, according to South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs.

In a statement released on Wednesday, 17 December, the department said officials acted after confirming that the Kenyans were engaged in employment prohibited under their entry conditions. All seven were arrested, issued with deportation orders and barred from re-entering the country for five years.

The incident touches on a politically sensitive resettlement initiative supported by the administration of US President Donald Trump. The programme aims to relocate thousands of white South Africans to the United States on claims of racial persecution — claims the South African government has repeatedly dismissed as misleading.

According to information published by the US Embassy, refugee processing in South Africa is currently undertaken by Amerikaners, a group led by white South Africans, alongside RSC Africa, a refugee support centre based in Kenya and operated by Church World Service. South African authorities say intelligence reports placed the seven Kenyans at a centre connected to this work.

Home Affairs insisted the operation was conducted lawfully, away from diplomatic facilities, and without disrupting services or intimidating members of the public.

It emphasised that enforcing immigration rules remained central to its mandate. “No person or entity is above these laws,” the statement read.