South Sudan Blames U.S. Visa Ban on Rejection of Non-Citizen Deportee

• Apr 08, 2025

South Sudan has blamed a recent U.S. decision to revoke visas held by its citizens on a dispute over a deportee who was not South Sudanese. The government said on Monday that the individual denied entry at Juba airport was actually a national of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The issue arose after the U.S. government announced it would cancel all visas for South Sudanese passport holders. The move was a response to South Sudan's refusal to accept the return of a repatriated person, which the U.S. viewed as a failure to cooperate with immigration enforcement.

According to a statement from South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the deportee told immigration officers in Juba that he had been brought to the country against his will. Officials then conducted a detailed verification and found that the man was not a South Sudanese citizen but a Congolese national. As a result, he was not allowed entry and was sent back to the U.S. for further processing.

“In accordance with immigration protocols, he was not admitted and was subsequently returned to the sending country for further processing,” the ministry said.

The government expressed regret over the U.S. decision, calling it unfair given what it described as a strong history of cooperation. “The government deeply regrets that despite this history of collaboration and partnership, South Sudan now faces a broad revocation of visas based on an isolated incident involving misrepresentation by an individual who is not a South Sudanese national,” the statement added.

The visa issue comes at a time of growing political tension within South Sudan. Last week, African Union mediators traveled to the country to help defuse a potentially explosive situation. First Vice President Riek Machar, a key political figure and former rebel leader, was placed under house arrest, raising fears of renewed conflict.

President Salva Kiir’s government has accused Machar of attempting to incite a new rebellion. The two men were on opposite sides of the civil war that lasted from 2013 to 2018, a conflict that left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced.

Meanwhile, U.S. immigration policy under President Donald Trump continues to focus on strict enforcement, including the deportation of individuals believed to be living in the country illegally.