South Sudan’s government has confirmed that eight migrants deported by the United States under a controversial Trump-era immigration policy are currently under its care in the capital, Juba.
In a statement issued Tuesday, South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the group of men, whose nationalities reportedly include Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Sudan, and Vietnam, arrived in Juba on Saturday following their deportation from a U.S. military base in Djibouti. The ministry stated that the individuals are being processed and screened in accordance with South Sudanese laws and international norms.
“The Government of South Sudan responded positively to a request by the United States government to receive the deportees as a gesture of goodwill,” the ministry said.
The migrants had been held for more than a month in U.S. custody before being flown out of Djibouti last Friday, U.S. officials and sources at Juba airport confirmed.
The deportations had sparked legal and political controversy in the United States, where the men’s lawyers argued that their forced removal to South Sudan, a country they had no prior connection to, violated constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Critics of the deportations also pointed to ongoing political instability and security concerns in South Sudan.
The case has reignited debate over the legality and ethics of deporting migrants to “third countries,” a hallmark of former President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration strategy.
South Sudanese authorities have not indicated what will happen to the migrants following the completion of their screening process.
Written By Rodney Mbua
