Why has Trump revoked all South Sudanese visas?

The United States government has revoked existing visas issued to all South Sudanese passport holders and barred further entries of the country’s nationals due to a failed deportation case, signalling an escalation of the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on immigration.

In a statement on Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed the transitional government of the African nation for a lack of “full cooperation” and accused South Sudan of “taking advantage” of Washington. It’s the first such blanket sanction on any country since President Donald Trump took office in January.

South Sudanese officials have not reacted to the new ban. In posts on social media, however, some South Sudanese accused the US of “bullying” and using collective punishment.

The East African nation, Africa’s youngest, is currently reeling from a new conflict between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar. The United Nations has warned of the risk of a return to all-out civil war if tensions continue to rise.

Here’s what you need to know about why the US imposed the visa ban and how South Sudanese nationals could be affected:

Displaced people fetch water inside a camp on the outskirts of Juba, South Sudan on February 13, 2025 [Brian Inganga/AP]

What did the US accuse South Sudan of?

Rubio implied in his statement that South Sudan’s government has refused to take back citizens who had been deported from the US. The matter, he said, involved US national security and warranted the visa revocations and ban.

“Every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them,” the statement read.

In a more detailed account on X, also on Saturday, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau alleged that South Sudan had refused to take back one person presumed to be from the African country because officials there had determined him to be Congolese after he arrived in Juba. It’s believed the country accepted several other returned people except the deportee in question.

Landau claimed that the individual had, on February 13, been verified as South Sudanese by the country’s embassy in Washington, DC. He also said the embassy issued an emergency travel letter that the US relied on to send the deportee on a flight to Juba. However, upon arrival there, South Sudanese officials determined that he was not actually from the country and returned him to the US, Landau said.

Let there be no mistake: the Administration of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump is committed to robust enforcement of our Nation’s immigration laws, and expects all other countries to accept repatriation of their own nationals. The Government of South Sudan has violated this obligation by…

— Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) April 5, 2025

“Obviously, at that point, it is unacceptable and irresponsible for South Sudanese government officials to second guess the determination of their own Embassy – as far as we’re concerned, the Embassy’s certification is conclusive and the matter is closed,” Landau said in his posts.

“We cannot have a repatriation system that allows foreign governments to reopen and relitigate eligibility for repatriation after those very governments had previously certified such eligibility and an individual has been repatriated,” he added.

What has South Sudan said?

South Sudan’s government has not publicly commented on the US actions.

Local media reported that 24 South Sudanese nationals were originally deported from the US and one had been returned because he was determined not to be South Sudanese by immigration officials.

In an unverified video posted on Facebook by a South Sudanese blog, Abeyeinthony Media, a man claiming to be the deportee in question is seen being interrogated by people who appeared to be South Sudanese officials, likely in Juba’s airport.

The man, who claimed to be Makula Kintu from North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), said he believed his parents were originally from Sudan but he was born in the DRC in 1977. At that time, South Sudan was still part of Sudan. It gained independence in 2011.

The man said he did not choose to travel to South Sudan. “I came to South Sudan, one because I was deported against my will,” the man, who also said he was orphaned as a child and was brought up by missionaries, told officials. “There was allegation that I was being extradited by the government of South Sudan because (of) my parents.”

Who will be impacted?

The conflict in South Sudan that erupted in 2011 after its independence from Sudan forced millions of people to flee the country. In 2013, the violence escalated into a full-blown civil war, sparked by tensions between Kiir and his deputy Machar. It ended in 2018 after a peace deal was reached, but sporadic violence has continued.

Many South Sudanese now reside in neighbouring African countries as well as in the US, Canada and Australia. An estimated 100,000 South Sudanese were residing in the US by 2007, according to a South Sudanese official at the time. It’s unclear how many were visa holders and how many were naturalised Americans.

About 133 South Sudanese were previously granted temporary protected status by former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2011 due to ongoing, sporadic conflict in the country. The categorisation grants work and residency rights to citizens of certain countries deemed unsafe due to conflict and natural disasters, including Haiti, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Cameroon and a handful of other countries. 

In 2023, President Joe Biden’s administration extended the status by 18 months to May 3 this year due to “violence and human rights abuses affecting civilians, as well as environmental, health, and food security concerns”.

Another 140 South Sudanese nationals who’d been residing in the US since September 2023 were also eligible to apply for the protected status.

Scores, if not hundreds, of South Sudanese study in US schools, many of them on scholarships.

South Sudan’s basketball team, Africa’s best rated, also has several members living and playing in the US. Standout player Khaman Maluach of Duke University, who had been expected to join the NBA this year, is one of those who could be affected by the Trump administration’s visa revocation.

In a statement, the university said it was “aware of the announcement”.

“We are looking into the situation and working expeditiously to understand any implications for Duke students,” spokesman Frank Tramble said.

South Sudanese soldiers patrol roads in Juba on February 13, 2025 [Brian Inganga/AP]

Why does the US visa ban matter for South Sudan now?

Although rich in petroleum resources, South Sudan is one of Africa’s poorest countries. The 2013-2018 civil war, which killed more than 400,000 people and displaced about four million, has contributed to sluggish economic growth and political instability.

Although the 2018 power-sharing agreement between Kiir and Machar stopped heavy fighting, tensions and sporadic violence have lingered. Some causes of tension include key elements of the deal that remain unimplemented: the creation of a new constitution and the unification of armed groups into a single army. The country has also not held elections as was agreed with Kiir’s officials postponing polls twice, citing a lack of financing.

Since March, parts of the country have again descended into violence, and tensions have once more risen between Kiir and Machar. The hostilities followed deadly clashes between the White Army, an armed group in Nasir County in the northeastern state of Upper Nile, and the Kiir-aligned South Sudanese army.

A large army deployment in the White Army’s strongholds is believed to have sparked rumours of a planned forced disarmament of local groups and prompted the clashes. The group reportedly overran an army base, resulting in casualties. According to the UN, the South Sudanese army used barrel bombs, believed to contain a highly flammable liquid, in air strikes on White Army locations.

Kiir-appointed officials have claimed the armed group, which previously fought for Machar during the civil war, is being controlled by the vice president’s party – the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM/IO), although the party denied links to the latest crisis. Kiir is head of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.

On March 27, Machar was placed under house arrest along with his wife, Angelina Teny, who is the country’s interior minister. Several members of his SPLM/IO have been arrested or forced to flee their posts after they were allegedly targeted. The party said in a statement last week that the 2018 deal has in effect collapsed.

Dozens of people have reportedly been killed or injured in the Upper Nile clashes. Neighbouring Uganda deployed troops to support the South Sudanese army early in March.

The US, the African Union, the United Nations and the European Union have expressed concerns over the escalations and urged Machar’s release. On March 8, the US ordered its nonemergency staff to leave the country. European countries like Germany have shut down consular operations there.

Last week, an AU delegation deployed to talk to both leaders was not allowed to see Machar in Juba, according to Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa. According to local media, Kiir told the AU officials that Machar would be investigated and tried in court although no arraignment date has been announced.