US revokes visas for all South Sudanese citizens over repatriation dispute

The U.S. announced on Saturday that it would cancel all visas issued to holders of South Sudanese passports because of South Sudan's refusal to accept the return of its repatriated nationals, when most in Africa are worried that the country might slip back into civil war. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has acted aggressively to increase immigration enforcement, including the repatriation of individuals considered to be in the U.S. illegally.

Reasons behind the cancellation

The administration threatened to impose consequences on countries that do not quickly accept back their citizens, including visa sanctions or tariffs. South Sudan had not honored the principle that  every nation has to take back its citizens in a timely fashion when another nation, including the U.S., wants to repatriate them, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated. Effective today, the United States Department of State is taking steps to cancel all the visas that South Sudanese passport holders currently possess and suspend further issuance in order to hinder entrance into the United States by South Sudanese passport holders," Rubio stated.

Implications and reactions

"We will be ready to reconsider these steps when South Sudan is fully cooperating," Rubio stated. It is now time for South Sudan's transitional government to "stop taking advantage of the United States," he added. South Sudan's Washington embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. African Union negotiators came to South Sudan's capital Juba this week to hold talks meant to prevent a new civil war in the nation after its First Vice President Riek Machar was put under house arrest last week.

Historical context of the conflict

South Sudan President Salva Kiir's administration has charged Machar, a long-time political opponent who commanded rebel troops in a 2013-18 civil war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, with attempting to incite a fresh rebellion. Machar's arrest came after weeks of clashes in the northern Upper Nile state between the army and the White Army militia. Machar's troops were allied with the White Army during the civil war but claim no present affiliation. The 2013-18 conflict was fought primarily on ethnic grounds, with troops of the Dinka, the nation's dominant group, rallying behind Kiir, and those of the Nuer, the second-largest group, lining up behind Machar.