After spending more than a year in detention, a Vietnamese national deported to South Sudan under the Trump administration’s controversial third-country deportation programme was repatriated to Vietnam on Friday.
At a press briefing on Friday, South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the repatriation of 44-year-old Tuan Phan.
“We are grateful that while in our custody Mr. Phan was very disciplined, joyful, and importantly, he remained healthy,” said spokesperson Agok Anyar.
In May 2025, Phan and seven other men were transferred to Africa under the deportation programme, but were first redirected to a U.S. military base in Djibouti after a federal judge stopped their removal to South Sudan midflight over procedural concerns. They were later flown to Juba, South Sudan’s capital, in July 2025 aboard a military aircraft after the Supreme Court cleared the deportations to proceed.
The eight men had all previously been convicted of crimes in the United States, but had already completed their prison terms before being detained again last year.
Under agreements with the United States, at least seven African nations have reportedly agreed to receive deportees who are not their own nationals, with Washington committing millions of dollars in financial support to participating governments in return.
According to the monitoring group Third Country Deportation Watch, over 180 individuals have so far been deported to those countries under the arrangement.
South Sudan’s selection as a destination for deportees drew widespread criticism due to concerns over its human rights record, entrenched corruption, and worsening political tensions. According to the United Nations, renewed violence in 2025 forced more than half a million people from their homes.
