The United States has revoked all visas held by South Sudanese nationals, effective immediately, the State Department announced on Saturday.

The decision, which also halts new visa issuance, stems from South Sudan’s refusal to accept its citizens deported from the U.S., a move that has sparked a diplomatic clash with the Trump administration.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the visa cancellation in a strongly worded statement, accusing the South Sudanese transitional government of shirking its duty. “Every nation must take back its own people,” Rubio declared. “South Sudan’s failure to cooperate leaves us no choice but to enforce our immigration laws and protect national security.” He added that the U.S. could reconsider the policy if Juba fully complies with repatriation efforts, urging the government to “stop exploiting” American leniency.

The South Sudanese embassy in Washington has remained silent on the matter, offering no immediate comment.

The visa ban lands at a precarious moment for South Sudan, where African Union mediators are currently in Juba to avert a slide back into civil war. The country’s fragile peace is unraveling, with First Vice President Riek Machar under house arrest and fresh fighting erupting in Upper Nile state. President Salva Kiir’s administration has accused Machar of stoking unrest, pointing to clashes involving the White Army militia—once tied to Machar during the devastating 2013–2018 conflict that killed hundreds of thousands along ethnic lines, pitting Kiir’s Dinka supporters against Machar’s Nuer base. Machar’s allies have rejected any present connection to the militia.

As South Sudan teeters on the brink, the U.S. visa revocation piles additional pressure on an already strained relationship between Washington and Juba, raising the stakes in both immigration and international diplomacy. (ILKHA)