South African authorities raid an American refugee processing center and protests in Washington

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African immigration authorities raided a U.S. refugee processing center in Johannesburg and seven Kenyans working there illegally were arrested and ordered deported, South Africa’s Home Affairs Ministry said Wednesday, with the United States calling the action “unacceptable.”

Tuesday’s raid took place at a center that processes applications from white South Africans who were given priority for refugee status in the United States by the Trump administration. It was inevitable that tension would increase between the two countries, whose relations had cooled significantly since President Donald Trump returned to office.

Read more: Trump said he would prevent South Africa from participating in the G20 summit next year

The Trump administration’s claim that members of South Africa’s white Afrikaans minority are being persecuted by the black-led government has been widely denied, but it has been central to the deterioration of relations between the United States and Africa’s most advanced economy.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said the Kenyans were in the country on tourist visas that did not allow them to work, adding that US officials working with them at the refugee processing center “raises serious questions about intent and diplomatic protocol.”

It was not immediately clear whether the United States was aware of the Kenyans’ situation.

The ministry said that no US officials were arrested during the raid and that the site was not a diplomatic site. She added that the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun “formal diplomatic contacts with both the United States and Kenya to resolve this issue.”

US State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott said that “interference in our refugee operations is unacceptable,” adding that they are requesting “immediate clarification from the South African government and expect full cooperation and accountability.”

The US embassy said in a statement last month that the US government had contracted with RSC Africa, a Kenya-based company, to process refugee applications submitted by white South African citizens. RSC Africa is managed by Church World Service, a US-based NGO that provides assistance to refugees and works with the US Refugee Admissions Program.

The Department of Home Affairs said the Kenyans were working at a U.S. refugee processing site “despite the fact that previous visa applications for Kenyan citizens to do this work have been lawfully denied.” The seven Kenyans were issued deportation orders and banned from entering South Africa for five years.

Trump singled out South Africa for criticism on a range of issues, claiming without evidence that Africans are being killed and their lands are being seized, and that South Africa is pursuing an anti-American foreign policy through its diplomatic relations with the Palestinian authorities and Iran.

The United States boycotted the G20 leaders’ summit held last month in South Africa, and Trump said it would exclude South Africa from the group when it hosts the annual summit next year. Trump also issued an executive order in February stating that the United States would stop aid to South Africa due to what he described as its “horrible actions.”

The South African government said US claims of persecution of Afrikaners were based on misleading information, and that white South Africans did not meet the criteria for refugee status because there was no persecution, although it said it would not prevent anyone from applying.

Afrikaners are white South African citizens descended mainly from Dutch and French colonial settlers who first came to the country in the 17th century.

The Trump administration announced in October that it had significantly reduced the annual quota of refugees allowed into the United States to 7,500 from the previous limit of 125,000, and that white South Africans would be given the most places. The first group of white refugees from South Africa had already arrived in the United States under the new program allocated to them in May. It is not clear how many people have been transferred since then.

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.