US accuses South Africa of harassment following official detentions, refugee center raid

Friday, December 19, 2025

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This article requires pre-publication review by an uninvolved reviewer (someone not substantially involved in writing the article). There are currently 11 articles in the review queue.

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Diplomatic tensions between the United States and South Africa escalated sharply Thursday after South African authorities raided a U.S. refugee processing center and briefly detained American government personnel. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the actions, which occurred as U.S. officials were executing a policy to admit members of the Afrikaner minority group as refugees.

Immigration authorities in Johannesburg carried out a raid on a facility used by the U.S. government for refugee processing. According to AP News, officers arrested seven Kenyan nationals working at the center. The workers, who were accused of being in the country illegally, were subsequently issued deportation orders.
Simultaneously, reports emerged regarding the detention of American officials.

Reuters reported that the United States government issued a formal condemnation Thursday regarding the “recent detention” of U.S. officials. The State Department indicated that the personnel were in the country to provide support to the Afrikaner minority group, a demographic the Trump administration has prioritized for refugee admission.

CNN reported that two U.S. government employees were “briefly held” while on assignment. People close to the situation described the relationship between Washington and Pretoria as tense. The White House went so far as to accuse South Africa of harassing American government staff. According to Al Jazeera, this is just the latest turn in a diplomatic dispute that keeps getting worse. Trump himself has gone after the South African government before, claiming they persecute white Afrikaners.

In a statement published on its website, the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in South Africa alleged that American officials had been subjected to “doxing and harassment” by the South African government. The embassy called it outright interference with their work.

The raid and detentions follow a directive from the Trump administration to facilitate the immigration of Afrikaners to the United States.