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The United States is ending South Sudan’s designation for temporary protected status, which for years had allowed people East African The country must reside in the US legally and avoid armed conflict in its own country.
The termination will be effective from January 5 Department of Homeland Security Said in a statement.
“After conversations with interagency partners, the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem The statement said it has been determined that conditions in South Sudan no longer meet TPS statutory requirements.
It states that South Sudanese citizens who use Customs and Border Protection The mobile app reporting their departure could receive “a complimentary airplane ticket, a $1,000 exit bonus, and possible future opportunities for legal immigration.”
The new policy is a blow to the people of South Sudan, a country that is politically unstable and the source of many refugees seeking refuge abroad.
Edmund Yakani, a prominent South Sudanese civilian leader, said the decision could be “a clear demonstration that South Sudan is no longer cooperating with the US on deportation cases of foreign nationals.”
“South Sudan has not accepted the second phase of US deportations to South Sudan and that has angered the Trump administration (and) the Trump administration has now reached this decision where it is ending the protections available to South Sudanese fleeing the war,” he said.
At least eight people were deported from the US to South Sudan at the beginning of the year, under a program to deport unwanted migrants to third countries.
South Sudan has been designated temporary protected status since 2011, when it became independent from Sudan. Renewal of designation is done in 18-month increments.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has moved to roll back various protections that have allowed immigrants to live and work legally in the United States, including ending temporary status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and Haitians who were granted protection under President Joe Biden.
South Sudan’s embattled government is struggling to provide many of the state’s basic services. Years of conflict have left the country heavily dependent on aid, which has been hit hard by deep cuts to foreign aid by the Trump administration. Many South Sudanese are facing hunger, and a hunger monitor this week said parts of conflict-hit South Sudan were heading towards famine conditions.
A peace accord to end fighting between rival forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar has been in place since 2018, but observers say it is slowly unraveling after Machar’s arrest on criminal charges earlier this year.
Kiir said he suspended Machar as his first vice president so his vice president could face charges including treason.