JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — A Vietnamese national deported to South Sudan by the Trump administration under its controversial third-country deportation program was repatriated to Vietnam on Friday after spending more than a year in detention.South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the repatriation of 44-year-old Tuan Phan at a press briefing on Friday.“We are grateful that while in our custody Mr. Phan was very disciplined, joyful, and importantly, he remained healthy,” said spokesperson Agok Anyar.Phan and seven other men were sent to Africa in May 2025, rerouted first to a U.S. military base in Djibouti after a federal judge blocked their deportation to South Sudan midflight, citing procedural irregularities. They arrived in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, aboard a military aircraft in July 2025 after a Supreme Court ruling greenlit their removal.
The eight men all have criminal convictions in the U.S. but had served their prison sentences when they were taken into custody last year.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.
