South Sudan Fears Becoming Dumping Ground for U.S. Deportees

(Juba) – South Sudanese officials and citizens are expressing concern after reports emerged that the United States may have quietly deported foreign nationals, including individuals from countries like Vietnam, Cuba, and Mexico to South Sudan, a fragile state still struggling to stabilize after years of civil conflict.

A U.S. federal judge ordered Trump administration officials to appear at an emergency hearing to explain the whereabouts of eight deported immigrants convicted of violent crimes. The administration declined to say where the individuals were sent, but several human rights observers and legal experts fear that South Sudan may have been chosen as an unofficial destination for migrants with no link to the country.

If true, the move could mean that people with no legal or ancestral ties to South Sudan were removed to a nation more than 8,000 miles from their homelands and from any consular support. For example, Vietnam’s nearest embassy to South Sudan is located in Tanzania, over 1,200 kilometers away by air.

In response, South Sudan’s police spokesperson, Maj. Gen. James Monday Enoka, stated that no migrants had officially arrived. However, he warned that if such deportees were to enter the country, they would be screened and, if found not to be South Sudanese, “redeported to their correct country.”

On the streets of Juba, concern is growing. “Those people who are deported, some of them are criminals,” said 28-year-old resident Martin Mawut Ochalla. “So once they are brought to South Sudan, that means that criminal activities will also increase.”

This is not the first time South Sudan has clashed with Washington over deportation issues. In a recent case, the U.S. revoked the visas of all South Sudanese citizens, accusing Juba of delaying the return of its nationals. South Sudan initially pushed back, arguing that the individual in question was actually Congolese. Eventually, officials agreed to admit the person “in the spirit of maintaining friendly relations” with the United States.

Since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has faced chronic instability. Civil war broke out in 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing his former deputy Riek Machar. The ensuing five-year conflict killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions. A 2018 peace deal brought some relief but has remained shaky, with key provisions such as national elections still pending.

Earlier this year, tensions reignited when Machar was arrested and several of his political allies were detained. The confrontation escalated with airstrikes and an attack on a United Nations helicopter. Machar’s camp later declared the peace agreement void, drawing comparisons to the deadly civil wars of 2013 and 2016. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned, “Let’s not mince words: What we are seeing is darkly reminiscent of the past wars.”

Amid this instability, the Trump administration’s apparent deportation policy has triggered fresh outrage. Aid to South Sudan has already been drastically cut under Trump era directives, leaving the country, where more than 11 million people depend on external assistance further exposed.

The U.S. government’s past support for South Sudan’s independence struggle once included strong diplomatic and financial backing. But recent years have brought a shift toward disengagement. Some Western embassies have shut down entirely, while the U.S. has reduced its diplomatic staff in Juba and issued stern travel warnings due to rising violence, carjackings, and kidnappings.

Meanwhile, basic services in South Sudan remain scarce. Public servants often go months without pay. Health systems are weak, and much of the education sector relies on foreign donors. Climate shocks like floods continue to force school closures and displace communities.

South Sudan’s main source of income, oil exports, has also been disrupted by the war in neighboring Sudan, blocking export routes and limiting national revenues. Corruption and mismanagement have further depleted state resources, undermining efforts to build institutions capable of handling crises like unexpected deportations.

With the country already overwhelmed by insecurity, poverty, and political uncertainty, officials are questioning whether South Sudan has either the capacity or the legal grounds to absorb foreign deportees. For now, no arrivals have been confirmed, but the lack of transparency from Washington has only fueled suspicion and unease.

What remains clear is that South Sudan, a nation still healing from war, is in no position to absorb the burdens of other countries’ migration problems.