Faith Nyasuguta
In a dramatic policy shift, the United States has announced it will revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders, citing the country’s refusal to accept the return of its citizens deported from the U.S.
Over the weekend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused South Sudan’s government of “taking advantage of the United States,” saying the decision was necessary to uphold international norms.
“Every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them,” Rubio stated. “South Sudan has failed to do so.”
The policy change means that not only will existing visas be canceled, but new ones will no longer be issued. South Sudanese citizens will be blocked from entering the U.S. until their government cooperates with repatriation efforts.
The move comes at a tense moment for South Sudan, as fears mount over the possibility of a return to full-blown civil war. The last conflict, which raged between 2013 and 2018, claimed the lives of an estimated 400,000 people and left the country deeply fractured along ethnic lines.
Just days before the U.S announcement, South Sudan’s First Vice President, Riek Machar, was placed under house arrest, a development that triggered alarm from international observers. Machar, a longtime political rival of President Salva Kiir, led rebel forces during the last war. Kiir’s administration has accused him of attempting to launch a new rebellion.
Clashes between government forces and the White Army militia in Upper Nile state have added fuel to the fire. Although Machar’s faction denies current ties to the militia, the group fought alongside his forces during the previous conflict, raising concerns of renewed violence.
Responding to these tensions, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week warned that South Sudan was on the brink of “falling over the abyss.” African Union mediators have since arrived in the capital, Juba, for emergency talks aimed at preventing another deadly conflict.
Meanwhile, the visa ban threatens to upend the lives of South Sudanese nationals living in the United States under a special immigration program. Former President Joe Biden’s administration had granted South Sudanese citizens Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a designation that shields individuals from deportation if returning home would be unsafe due to war, disasters, or other crises.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, around 133 South Sudanese were under TPS protection as of September 2023, with an additional 140 eligible to apply. However, the TPS designation is set to expire on May 3, 2025, and with Washington now taking a harsher stance, its renewal is uncertain.
Rubio hinted that the U.S. might reconsider the visa revocations if South Sudan “fully cooperates” with deportation proceedings. But with the country teetering on the edge of another civil war, hopes for quick resolution appear dim.
For now, South Sudanese passport holders around the world find themselves caught in the crossfire of politics, immigration policy, and a fragile peace hanging by a thread.
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