On April 5, the Trump administration stated it would revoke all visas, including F-1 student visas and H-1B visas, from South Sudanese passport holders and block any new arrivals effective immediately. According to the Bechtel International Center’s 2023 report, two Stanford undergraduates are from South Sudan.
As per a U.S. State Department press statement issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, these revocations are a response to the African nation not accepting the return of South Sudanese citizens expelled from the U.S.
“It is time for the Transitional Government of South Sudan to stop taking advantage of the United States,” Rubio wrote.
In the statement, Rubio wrote that “every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them.” Rubio added that “South Sudan’s transitional government has failed to fully respect this principle” and the department “will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation.
These developments also arrive at a time of increased visa revocations and deportations. On April 4, Stanford confirmed that four students and two recent graduates had their student visas revoked for reasons the University is currently unaware of.
In January, the Trump administration broadened Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) power to allow expedited deportations of immigrants who previously held legal authorization during former President Joe Biden’s term. The administration also invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to authorize expedited removal of all Venezuelan citizens 14 and older deemed members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison gang. These changes have led to larger rates of deportations, especially among immigrants with pending appeals or parole who are required to routinely check in with ICE.
The recent measure is the first to single out all passport holders from a single country since President Trump returned to office on Jan. 20. In his first term, Trump banned all citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and wrote four other executive orders to update and change the initial bans on the seven countries.
South Sudan, the world’s newest country, gained independence on July 9, 2011 and currently faces escalating violence as the political rivalry grows between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, threatening a civil war.
In a travel advisory update issued by the U.S. Embassy in South Sudan, the State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees from the nation “due to continued security threats in South Sudan.”
The update spoke to tensions between various political and ethnic groups, stating that “foreign nationals have been the victims of rape, sexual assault, armed robberies, and other violent crimes.”
The State Department also issued a level four travel advisory on South Sudan, the highest level that can be given. The Department states, “do not travel to South Sudan due to crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.”
The Daily has reached out to the University and the Bechtel International Center for comment.