U.S revokes visas for South Sudanese passport holders
The US Secretary of State complained of the African nation’s ‘refusal to accept its nationals expelled from the United States.’
By James Chatim
Washington has revoked all visas for South Sudanese passport holders and blocked new arrivals, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
The US Secretary of State complained of the African nation’s ‘refusal to accept its nationals expelled from the United States.’
“The State Department is taking action to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and prevent further issuance to prevent entry,” Rubio said in a statement on Saturday.
“It is time for the Transitional Government of South Sudan to stop taking advantage of the United States. Enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States,” Rubio stated.
He added that every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them.
“We will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation,” he stated.
It was the first such measure singling out all passport holders from a particular country since President Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, having campaigned on an anti-immigration platform.
South Sudanese nationals had been granted temporary protected status (TPS) by the administration of Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, with the designation set to expire on May 3, 2025.
The US grants TPS, which shields people against deportation to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions.
Meanwhile, a video made rounds on social media on Sunday (yesterday), of a man allegedly at the centre of the South Sudan–USA visa dispute.
The man, the platforms said, is a Congolese national with a criminal record who fraudulently claimed South Sudanese identity. In a video reportedly filmed at Juba International Airport shortly before his return to the U.S., the man claims he was born in Congo but identified as South Sudanese.
According to the sources, the man was among 24 individuals flagged by U.S. immigration authorities as South Sudanese nationals and deported to Juba, the South Sudan’s embassy in Washington claiming the three of those individuals were not South Sudanese citizens.
“Few months ago, when the United States initiated the deportation of undocumented individuals, 24 people were reportedly identified as South Sudanese and presented to the Embassy in Washington DC for repatriation. True to protocol and in a show of responsible governance, the South Sudan Embassy conducted a thorough background check to verify the nationalities of the individuals,” Alma Deŋ Dhieu wrote in a commentary published in a leading local digital news platform.
“Out of the 24, 21 were confirmed as South Sudanese and were returned to Juba without any resistance or delay. One was a Somali, another from Northern Sudan, and the last—whose case has sparked this diplomatic tension—refused to reveal his true identity due to a complicated and troubling criminal history.
“This individual, who falsely claimed to be South Sudanese under the name “Garang” (a common South Sudanese name), is actually Congolese by origin. His story is one of deception. He initially entered the U.S. in earlier times but was deported in 2009. He then made his other ways to return to the US after the change of the government but was again forced to leave (self-deportation) in 2016. 2 years later, he reentered the country again through Mexico right to the state of Illinois (Chicago) — this time using fake documents and a stolen identity,” Dhieu’s statement added.
The South Sudan government was yet to respond and clarify the move by the United States by the time of going to press.
“We will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation,” US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
