U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Saturday the revocation of all U.S. visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and will restrict future visa issuance, citing South Sudan’s failure to accept the return of its citizens when the United States seeks to remove them.
Newsweek reached out to the State Department, the U.S. Embassy in Juba, South Sudan, and the Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan via email on Saturday for comment.
Why It Matters
This marks the first measure under the second Trump administration that singles out all passport holders from a specific country since Trump returned to the White House in January.
This latest measure comes amid a broader immigration crackdown that includes the administration’s move last month to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, which was temporarily blocked by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen.
What Is Temporary Protected Status?
TPS is a program administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that offers protection to eligible foreign nationals who cannot safely return to their home countries due to extraordinary circumstances.
The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a country for TPS due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
During a designated TPS period, beneficiaries:
- Cannot be removed from the United States
- Can obtain work authorization
- May be granted travel authorization
- Cannot be detained by DHS based on immigration status
- TPS is temporary and does not lead to permanent residency, though recipients can apply for other immigration benefits for which they might qualify.
What To Know
South Sudanese nationals had been granted TPS by former President Joe Biden‘s administration, with protections set to expire on May 3, 2025. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), approximately 133 South Sudanese were in the U.S. under this program, with another 140 eligible to apply as of September 2023.
Currently, 17 countries have TPS designations, including Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s move to end TPS for Venezuelans in March, just one week before protections were set to expire on April 7. U.S. District Judge Chen criticized the decision by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying the government failed to show any “real countervailing harm in continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries.”
South Sudan, the world’s newest internationally recognized country and one of its poorest, continues to face political tensions that some observers fear could reignite the civil war that killed 400,000 people between 2013 and 2018.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a State Department press release: “It is time for the Transitional Government of South Sudan to stop taking advantage of the United States… Every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them.”
He continued: “As South Sudan’s transitional government has failed to fully respect this principle, effective immediately, the United States Department of State is taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and prevent further issuance to prevent entry into the United States by South Sudanese passport holders. We will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation.”
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in a March ruling against the Trump administration’s move to end TPS: “This action threatens to: inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the United States billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the United States.”
Sarah Vuong, Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney, defended Noem in the Venezuela case, insisting her motivations were: “Based on national security concerns” and that “she was not motivated by racial bias.”
What Happens Next?
The State Department will begin the process of revoking existing visas and restricting new ones for South Sudanese citizens.
This action may face legal challenges similar to those that have temporarily halted the administration’s attempt to revoke TPS for Venezuelans. Judge Chen gave the administration one week to file notice of an appeal in the Venezuela case and gave plaintiffs one week to seek a pause in the termination of TPS for 500,000 Haitians, whose protections are scheduled to end in August.
Update 4/5/25, 8:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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