South Sudan has expressed its disapproval regarding the revocation of US visas for all its citizens, following an incident where the Trump administration mistakenly deported a Congolese individual to the nation, which is the newest in the world.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced this visa policy as a reaction to South Sudan’s refusal to accept the return of its nationals being deported from the United States.
In response, South Sudan’s foreign ministry stated that the decision was based on a case involving someone who had been wrongly identified as a South Sudanese citizen. They clarified that the individual was “returned to the sending country for further processing.”
This marks the first instance of the US targeting all passport holders from a specific country since President Donald Trump resumed office in January, after campaigning on an anti-immigration agenda that included promises of “mass deportations.”
Rubio’s statement also indicated that the US would prevent any citizens of South Sudan from entering the country at its ports of entry. He attributed this action to “the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner.”
He added, “We will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation.”
However, in a statement released on Monday, South Sudan’s foreign ministry expressed that it “deeply regrets” the sweeping measure against all its citizens, which was based on “an isolated incident involving misrepresentation by an individual who is not a South Sudanese national.”
The individual at the heart of the visa dispute has been identified as a Congolese national who has since been returned to the United States. It was noted that all relevant documentation was provided to American authorities.
However, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau rejected South Sudan’s rationale as “legally irrelevant,” emphasizing that the embassy of South Sudan in Washington had confirmed this individual as one of their citizens.
Landau further stated, “It is unacceptable and irresponsible for officials of the South Sudanese government to question the findings of their own embassy.”
In response, South Sudan’s Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth expressed to reporters that the US was “trying to find faults with the tense situation” in South Sudan, asserting that no sovereign nation would accept the return of foreign deportees.
Concerns are rising that South Sudan may be on the brink of another civil war, particularly after First Vice-President Riek Machar was placed under house arrest, with President Salva Kiir accusing him of inciting a new uprising.
Last month, the US ordered the evacuation of all non-emergency personnel from South Sudan as violence erupted in a region of the country, jeopardizing a fragile peace agreement established in 2018 that concluded a five-year civil conflict.
Previously, South Sudanese nationals in the US were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), allowing them to stay in the country for a designated period. This TPS was set to expire on May 3.
