By Enyichukwu Enemanna
South Sudan says the US visa cancellation was based on an isolated incident involving misrepresentation by an individual whom it says is not a citizen of South Sudan.
On Monday, it said the decision was prompted by Juba’s refusal to admit a deportee holding another country’s passport.
The US had on Saturday said it would cancel all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders over South Sudan’s failure to accept the return of its repatriated citizens.
The deportee denied entry by South Sudanese authorities was from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and reportedly stated in an immigration interview at Juba Airport that he had been brought there against his will, South Sudan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Comprehensive verification processes confirmed that this individual is a national of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In accordance with immigration protocols, he was not admitted and was subsequently returned to the sending country for further processing,” the ministry said.
“The Government deeply regrets that despite this history of collaboration and partnership, South Sudan now faces a broad revocation of visas based on an isolated incident involving misrepresentation by an individual who is not a South Sudanese national,” it added.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has taken aggressive measures to increase immigration enforcement, including the repatriation of people deemed to be in the US illegally.
African Union mediators visited South Sudan last week for talks aimed at preventing a new civil war in the country, after its First Vice President Riek Machar was placed under house arrest.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s government has accused Machar, a longtime rival who led rebel forces during a 2013–18 war that killed hundreds of thousands, of trying to stir up a new rebellion.
