This is true and widely pervasive in Africa too. In Africa, an undocumented African — ironic that Africans can be undocumented on the continent but here we are — is an illegal immigrant, whereas an undocumented European person is either a tourist or an investor, and they are hardly ever harassed or treated in the same way as Africans. In South Africa, xenophobia is directed at black people from the continent, and never white people. You see some towards Chinese people but because of the Chinese pouring money into their projects which will give them leverage over Africans for decades to come, the South African govt and do other African govts protects them in ways they would never protect their own citizens or other Africans.

Finally it is easier to travel the african continent on any European or north American passport than on any African passport. This is deemed standard practice because the understanding behind it is that the non-African brings value while fellow African brings squalor. This is changing thankfully and hopefully the African Union will be awakened from its sleep — it continues to refuse Caribbean entrants into the Union on the flimsy argument of geography. I think powerful strings are being pulled behind the scenes.