Stranded and Forgotten: The US Deportees in South Sudan’s Shadow

Eight men, from as far afield as Mexico, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar, have been deported by the United States and flown to South Sudan, a country still recovering from a devastating civil war. This contentious third country deportation policy, revived by the Trump administration, is now under intense scrutiny, with specific concerns raised about the welfare of these individuals.
A striking admission came from Tom Homan, the US border czar, who stated he has no idea what has become of the deportees since their arrival in South Sudan. His casual assertion,They’re free as far as we’re concerned. They’re no longer in our custody, they’re in Sudan, underscores a alarming absence of post-deportation accountability and raise’s profound questions about the US government’s responsibility for those it removes.
The precariousness of their situation is amplified by the fact that only one of the eight men has any reported connection to South Sudan. The remainder have been sent to a nation with which they have no ties, thrust into an environment already fraught with political and social challenges. Their journey was marked by a court-imposed delay and a period of confinement in Djibouti, before a series of Supreme Court decisions paved the way for their controversial transfer.
South Sudanese officials have verified that the men are currently in custody in Juba, undergoing a screening process to ascertain their safety and wellbeing. However, this incident serves as a stark reminder of the ethical quandaries inherent in third country deportations, particularly when directed at individuals with no links to the receiving nation and sent into unstable territories.