The United States, under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has announced the revocation of all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and a ban on new visa issuances.
This decision stems from Washington’s frustration with South Sudan’s refusal to accept its nationals being deported from the US.
Rubio stated that the State Department is implementing these measures to force South Sudan to cooperate with US deportation efforts.
He accused the South Sudanese transitional government of “taking advantage of the United States,” emphasising that all countries are obligated to accept the return of their citizens when another nation seeks to deport them.
The US has indicated that it will reconsider these restrictions once South Sudan demonstrates full cooperation.
This action marks the first time since President Donald Trump’s return to office that the US has imposed a blanket visa revocation on all passport holders from a specific country, a move aligned with his administration’s anti-immigration stance.
South Sudan is currently experiencing political instability, raising concerns about a potential resurgence of the civil war that devastated the country between 2013 and 2018.
Previously, the Biden administration had granted “temporary protected status” (TPS) to South Sudanese nationals, which was set to expire in May 2025. TPS is a US programme that protects foreign nationals from deportation when their home countries are unsafe due to conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances.
As of September 2023, approximately 133 South Sudanese individuals resided in the US under the TPS programme, with another 140 eligible to apply.
The Trump administration has been actively reversing TPS designations, recently revoking protection for over 600,000 Venezuelans. This decision was temporarily halted by a federal judge, who questioned the government’s claims about Venezuelan criminality.
According to the Pew Research Center, as of March 2024, 1.2 million people in the US are eligible for or currently hold TPS, with Venezuelans comprising the largest group.
The US’s decision to target South Sudan comes amidst a rise in African nationals attempting to enter the US via its southern border, seeking an alternative to the dangerous routes to Europe.
