The U.S. is ending a temporary protection accord for Sudanese nationals in South Sudan, which for more than a decade has allowed people from the East African country to escape conflict.
In a notices Published on Wednesday, US Citization and USCIS (USCIS) said that South Sudan no longer meets the criteria for temporary protected status. The agency also said South Sudanese nationals with status through the program will have 60 days to leave the US before facing deportation starting in January.
“Based on the department’s review, the Secretary has determined the situation in South Sudan no longer meets the criteria for a serious threat to the return of South Sudanese nationals,” the announcement said.
on a statementUSCIS said that South Sudanese nationals who use the Customs and Border Protection Mobile App to report their departure can receive “a $1,000 opportunity to quit for legal immigration”.
Temporary protected status gives foreign nationals access to work permits and allows them to temporarily live and work legally in the US when their home countries are unsafe.
The designation of South Sudan, which was first authorized by the Barack Obama administration in 2011 because of the armed conflict, ended on Monday after several extensions.
The call has so far been approved for about 232 people from the country.
The termination is the latest effort by the Trump administration to take away the legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants living in the US. The government also ended protections for countries including Cameroon, Haiti and Nepal.
The changes have raised fears for the safety of immigrants, with critics saying they could return to dangerous conditions.
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South Sudan has faced on-and-off conflict since its independence, leading to mass killings and mass separatism.
In 2013, the country descended into a civil war that killed more than 400,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country’s population. A peace deal in 2018 ended the fighting but observers say recent developments, including the arrest and prosecution of Vice-President Machar, are worsening the country.
Last week, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan Warned That’s a mix of political power struggles, ethnic tensions and local gripes have been reduced to a renewed slide into full-scale fighting.