The US government has announced that the visas of holders of South Sudanese passports will be revoked, and that no further visas will be issued to holders of such passports at this time.
This comes in response to what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as “the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner.”
The US claims that the South Sudan has not been willing to accept its citizens who have been deported.
This recalls a confrontation between the US and Colombia earlier this year, during which the latter had refused to accept aircraft carrying deported Colombians. The US government threatened tariffs and sanctions in response, and Colombia relented.
South Sudan is a highly unstable country, experiencing fighting in certain regions. South Sudanese have been accorded Temporary Protected Status in the US, which grants them the right to remain in the country for a period. This period was to expire in early May.
This measure stands to end all access to the US for South Sudanese people.