South Sudan engages Vietnam to repatriate a migrant deported by U.S.

2026-03-23 - 09:04

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is working with the government of Vietnam to repatriate a Vietnamese national who was deported to South Sudan, along with seven others by the United States last year. Ambassador Thomas Kenneth Elisapana, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, announced the development during a weekly media briefing last week. The Vietnamese national was among a group deported to Juba in July 2025, alongside two citizens from Myanmar, two Cubans, one from Laos, one Mexican, and one South Sudanese. The migrants had been serving jail terms in the United States for crimes including murder, sexual assault, and robbery. They were later deported to South Sudan following a controversial deal between the administration of US President Donald Trump and the government of South Sudan. Ambassador Kenneth said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Monday Semaya Kumba, held discussions with the Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt on the voluntary return of the migrant. “While in Cairo, the hon. minister also met on 26th February 2026 with the Ambassador of Vietnam to Egypt to discuss coordination regarding the voluntary return of a Vietnamese national who had been deported to South Sudan from the United States,” he said. The spokesperson did not indicate when the migrant will be repatriated to Vietnam. Relations between South Sudan and the United States deteriorated last year after authorities in Juba returned a Congolese migrant who had been deported to the country by the US government. US authorities had identified the migrant as Nimeri Garang in his South Sudanese passport, but authorities in Juba said he was a Congolese national identified as Makula Kintu. Juba later admitted the migrant, but the United States has since imposed full restrictions on South Sudan and four other countries in a proclamation issued by the White House in November 2025.