PebHmong Discussion Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: theking on June 22, 2026, 11:19:04 AM
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...you can end up in a place you have zero ties to...
Vietnamese man deported to South Sudan under Trump program returns home
A Vietnamese national, Tuan Phan, 44, was repatriated to Vietnam on Friday after over a year detained in South Sudan, following his deportation under a controversial Trump administration program.
His return was announced by South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Phan and seven other men were sent to Africa in May 2025. Their deportation to South Sudan was initially blocked midflight by a federal judge citing procedural irregularities, rerouting them to a U.S. military base in Djibouti. They ultimately arrived in Juba, South Sudan's capital, in July 2025, after a Supreme Court ruling greenlit their removal.
..At least seven African countries have agreed to accept deportees who are not their own citizens as part of arrangements with the U.S., which in exchange has agreed to pay millions of dollars to those governments.
The choice of South Sudan as a receiving nation was particularly controversial given its exceptionally poor human rights record, high levels of corruption and growing political instability. Armed conflict displaced more than half a million people in 2025, according to the United Nations.