JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN — In a significant reversal aimed at de-escalating a diplomatic row over visas, South Sudan has announced it will now permit the entry of a man deported from the United States.
The decision comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on Saturday that the US would revoke all US visas for South Sudanese citizens. This action was a direct response to South Sudan’s refusal to accept the return of its citizens being deported from the US.
Initially, South Sudan’s foreign ministry countered that the US move was based on the case of an individual incorrectly identified as South Sudanese and consequently returned.
However, the government has now stated it will allow the man’s entry “in the spirit of the friendly relations” between the two nations. The deported individual, identified as being from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is expected to arrive in the capital, Juba, as early as Wednesday.
“As a result of this decision, the government has instructed the relevant authorities at Juba International Airport to facilitate [his] arrival,” South Sudan’s foreign ministry said in Tuesday’s statement.
Regarding other potential deportations, the ministry affirmed the country’s commitment to supporting the return of its “verified nationals” who are scheduled for deportation from the US.
The US decision over the weekend marked the first instance of the US targeting all passport holders from a specific country since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, following a campaign focused on anti-immigration and promises of “mass deportations.”
In his Saturday statement, Rubio also indicated that the US would deny entry to any arriving citizens of South Sudan, the world’s newest country, at US ports of entry. He attributed this to “the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner.”
“We will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation,” he added.
However, in a statement released on Monday, South Sudan’s foreign ministry expressed “deep regret” over the blanket measure against all its citizens, asserting it was based on “an isolated incident involving misrepresentation by an individual who is not a South Sudanese national.”
The ministry maintained that the man at the center of the visa dispute was a Congolese national who had been returned to the US, and that all supporting evidence had been shared with American officials.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, however, dismissed South Sudan’s explanation as “legally irrelevant,” stating that the African country’s embassy in Washington “certified this particular individual as one of their nationals.”
“It is unacceptable and irresponsible for South Sudanese government officials to second guess the determination of their own embassy,” Landau added.
South Sudan’s Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told the AP news agency that the US was “attempting to find faults with the tense situation” in the country, arguing that no sovereign nation would accept foreign deportees.
This diplomatic clash occurs amidst growing concerns that South Sudan may again descend into civil war, following the reported house arrest of the country’s First Vice-President Riek Machar. President Salva Kiir has accused Machar of inciting a new revolt.
Last month, the US ordered all its non-emergency staff in South Sudan to depart as fighting erupted in one part of the country, posing a threat to a fragile peace deal agreed in 2018, which had ended a five-year civil war.
South Sudanese individuals in the US had previously been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), allowing them to remain in the US for a specified period. The TPS for South Sudanese in the US was scheduled to expire by May 3.
