April 7, 2025
WE CAN’T LET THE REVOCATION OF VISAS FOR SOUTH SUDANESE BE THE NEW STANDARD
The Trump Administration’s latest attack on immigrants targets South Sudanese visa holders and pushes our country further into authoritarianism.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Saturday, April 5, 2025, the State Department announced that effective immediately they will begin revoking previously issued visas and stop issuing new visas for South Sudanese passport holders. This move will have sweeping and detrimental consequences on our communities across the United States, including students, families, and workers.
African Communities Together condemns the use of South Sudanese lives as bargaining chips in political maneuvers. As a country, we cannot stand idly by and allow this Administration to intensify policies that separate families and communities. Additionally, South Sudan is currently facing multiple crises, including armed conflicts, mass displacement, and widespread famine, making it impossible for South Sudanese individuals to safely return home. Our South Sudanese community members are integral members of the American society and economy, and like all people, they deserve safety and protection.
Since January, people across the country have woken up every day to devastating news like this one. From job loss and rising costs to cuts in life-saving assistance programs, citizens and non-citizens alike have been living each day at the whim of a government who caters to billionaires and tech moguls, rather than the people that are at the heart of our communities. We cannot accept this as normal- it is not.
This attack on the South Sudanese community is an attack on all of us.
This is not the only immigration fight facing South Sudanese. Currently, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders from South Sudan are living in limbo, as no decision has been made on whether or not the protection will be extended. The Administration missed the deadline for a decision to be made and the designation expires May 3, 2025. Earlier this year, advocates issued a letter to the administration urging the Department of Homeland Security to extend and re-designate South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.
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African Communities Together is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for African families in the U.S. and worldwide.