South Sudan Disputes US Visa Ban Citing Nationality Error

South Sudan's foreign ministry has criticized the US for issuing a visa ban on all its nationals, asserting that the decision was based on an incident involving a citizen from the Democratic Republic of Congo, not South Sudan. The US has signaled it may lift the ban contingent on improved cooperation.

South Sudan has voiced strong objections to a sweeping US visa ban affecting all of its nationals, which it attributes to a misidentification incident involving an individual from a different African nation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the travel restrictions on Saturday, citing South Sudan's failure to accept the return of its citizens expelled from the US. The South Sudanese government refuted this claim, clarifying that the individual involved in the deportation was actually a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who was subsequently sent back for further processing.

This marks the first instance in which the US has implemented such a ban on all passport holders from a specific country since President Donald Trump's return to office, where he had emphasized a stringent immigration policy. Rubio indicated that the US would also bar any citizens of South Sudan from entering the country, attributing the situation to “the failure of South Sudan's transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner,” and noted that this action could be reviewed pending South Sudan's cooperation.

In a statement released on Monday, South Sudan's foreign ministry expressed its “deep regret” over the blanket prohibition against its citizens, highlighting that the controversy was linked to an isolated occurrence involving a non-South Sudanese individual. Furthermore, South Sudan's Information Minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, criticized the US, suggesting it was attempting to exploit the country’s complicated circumstances, as no sovereign nation would willingly accept the repatriation of foreign deportees.

The tensions come amidst growing concerns that South Sudan risks descending back into civil conflict after the detention of First Vice-President Riek Machar, whom President Salva Kiir has accused of inciting dissent. In light of escalating violence, which has triggered fears about the stability of a fragile peace agreement established in 2018, the US also ordered the withdrawal of all non-emergency personnel from South Sudan.

Previously, South Sudanese nationals in the US were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which was susceptible to expiration by May 3.