17/06/2025
South Sudan among 36 countries to face U.S. partial or full travel ban
The move comes just days after US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that banned the entry of citizens from 12 countries, saying the move was needed to protect the US from national security threat
By James Chatim
President Donald Trump’s administration is considering significantly expanding its travel restrictions by potentially banning citizens of 36 additional countries, including South Sudan, from entering the United States, an internal State Department memo has revealed.
25 African countries have been included in the cable. From East Africa, Trump’s watchlist recorded Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan. Other countries that could face the full or partial ban include: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti and Dominica.
Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe were also recorded.
Earlier this month, Trump signed a proclamation that banned the entry of citizens from 12 countries, a move he said was aimed at protecting the United States against “foreign terrorists” and other national security threats.
The order was part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched this year at the start of his second term.
The internal diplomatic memo signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department outlined a dozen concerns about the countries in question and sought corrective action.
According to the cable, which was fist published by The Washington Post, the State Department identified numerous security and administrative shortcomings in the 36 countries currently under review. The shortcomings include: Lack of cooperation in identity verification or the issuance of forged or insecure passports; failure to facilitate deportation of nationals ordered removed from the US, high overstay of US borders and historical ties to terrorism or antisemitic or anti-American activities.
The memo, however, emphasized that not all concerns apply to every country on the watchlist, but each is being asked to take corrective action to avoid punitive measures.
The nations identified must take corrective steps within 60 days to avoid travel restrictions.
US-South Sudan immigration row
This is not the first time in recent months South Sudan and the US are entangled in immigration scuffle. Two months ago, in April, the US revoking all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders, accusing South Sudan government of not accepting the repatriation of its nationals and “taking advantage of the United States”.
“Every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them,” Rubio said in a statement, adding that, “South Sudan’s transitional government has failed to fully respect this principle.”
The move followed US deportation of a man, who the South Sudanese immigration authorities claimed was using forged passports, to South Sudan. Refusing to allow entry, the East African nation deported the man back to the US, an issue that prompted the US decision to revoke the passports.
However, the two nations would later sort out the diplomatic row after South Sudan’s foreign ministry said the government had chosen to admit the deportee, identified as Makula Kintu, “in the spirit of the friendly relations between South Sudan and the United States.”
Late last month, a group of migrants deported from the United States to South Sudan were temporarily held at a US military base in Djibouti, after a court order squashed the decision, citing violations of the deportees rights to be offered enough timeframe to contest their expulsion to South Sudan.
Washington had failed to obtain approval from the migrants’ respective governments to take them back, and opted to fly them to South Sudan. Among the deportees were a Vietnamese, two Cubans and two from Myanmar and a Mexican and a South Sudanese citizen.
US President Donald Trump has heavily cracked down on immigration since his return to power in January and has launched a series of deportation actions in recent months.
The African Union, responding to the US on its ban on people from 12 countries from entering the US early this month, said:
“While recognizing the sovereign right of all nations to protect their borders and ensure the security of their citizens, the African Union Commission respectfully appeals to the United States to exercise this right in a manner that is balanced, evidence-based and reflective of the long-standing partnership between the United States and Africa.”
