Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Saturday that the United States will immediately revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and halt the issuance of new ones.
Rubio cited the move as a response to “the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner,” according to a statement posted on X.
In a separate statement, the U.S. Department of State said it is time for South Sudan’s transitional government to “stop taking advantage” of the United States.
“Enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States,” according to the statement. “Every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them. ”
The department said it “will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation.”
I am taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and to restrict any further issuance to prevent entry into the United States, effective immediately, due to the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 5, 2025
The East African nation is teetering on the brink of civil war amid intensifying armed conflict, widespread displacement, and a worsening food crisis, Fox News reported on Saturday.
During the Democratic Biden-Harris administration, policies put in place allowed millions of people into the country from all over the world, most often without proper vetting. And Democrats largely remain opposed to the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts.
Earlier, on April 22, 2023, the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, suspended operations, including visa processing, passport services, and other routine consular functions. This latest move follows the Trump administration’s February decision to end deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 300,000 foreign nationals.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has deported more than 100,000 undocumented migrants, according to a New York Post report citing a DHS official.
“Sources said it shows that Trump is keeping his promise to boot illegal migrants, alleged gangbangers and suspected terrorists from the United States,” The Post reported. “He’s doing what he was voted in to do. Point blank!” an ICE source told The Post.
It remains unclear how many of the detainees are convicted criminals, the current status of their cases, or their countries of origin—though sources indicate the majority are being deported to Mexico.
President Trump, who made cracking down on illegal immigration a central campaign promise, wasted no time upon returning to office. On Day One, he declared a border emergency, deployed thousands of additional troops, shut down the asylum process for illegal border crossers, and launched a nationwide deportation effort.
Since then, ICE has “maxed out” its detention capacity and is now urging Congress to approve funding for additional beds to sustain the administration’s aggressive deportation push, which has already resulted in 32,000 arrests in the first 50 days.
Trump has also taken bold steps to dismantle transnational criminal networks, including using the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan gang members directly to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador—without trial.
Seventeen suspected members of the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs were flown to El Salvador in shackles Sunday night, despite a federal judge blocking use of the rarely invoked wartime-era Alien Enemies Act earlier this month.
Meanwhile, illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped to levels not seen in decades, reaching a dramatic new low in March. DHS sources have attributed the decline to what they’re calling “the Trump effect.”
“Illegal entries into the United States are no longer a backdoor way to getting status,” a source told the outlet.