South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa

South African immigration and law enforcement officers have raided a centre in Johannesburg processing applications for a United States refugee programme, arresting seven Kenyan nationals for allegedly working in the country illegally, the Department of Home Affairs said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the ministry said the Kenyans were employed at the facility despite having entered South Africa on tourist visas, which do not permit employment. No United States officials were arrested during Tuesday’s operation, and authorities clarified that the centre was not a diplomatic site.

The facility has been processing applications by white South Africans under a programme introduced by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which gives Afrikaners priority consideration for refugee status in the United States.

The arrests are likely to heighten tensions between Washington and Pretoria. Trump has repeatedly accused South Africa of persecuting its white Afrikaner minority and of pursuing what he describes as an anti-American foreign policy — claims the South African government has strongly rejected.

South Africa maintains that white citizens do not qualify for refugee status, arguing that there is no systemic persecution. However, officials say they will not prevent individuals from applying for relocation under the U.S. scheme.

The Home Affairs Ministry did not immediately specify who employed the Kenyan workers. The U.S. government has previously confirmed that it contracted a Kenya-based firm, RSC Africa, to process the refugee applications. RSC Africa is operated by Church World Service, a U.S.-based non-governmental organisation involved in humanitarian and refugee assistance globally.

According to the ministry, Kenyan nationals had earlier been denied work visas related to the programme, raising concerns over why individuals who entered on tourist visas were working at the centre alongside U.S. officials.

“The presence of foreign nationals apparently coordinating with undocumented workers naturally raises serious questions about intent and diplomatic protocol,” the statement said.

The ministry added that South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation has begun “formal diplomatic engagements with both the United States and Kenya to resolve this matter.”

Authorities said the seven Kenyan nationals have been issued deportation orders and barred from entering South Africa for five years.