A Vietnamese man deported by the United States to South Sudan a year ago as part of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration agenda left for Vietnam on Friday, South Sudanese officials said.
Tuan Thanh Phan was among a group of migrants with criminal convictions transferred by U.S. authorities to third countries last year under deportation arrangements that drew international scrutiny.
Speaking to journalists at Juba’s international airport before Phan boarded his flight, South Sudan foreign ministry spokesperson Agok Anyar Madut said the repatriation exercise had been coordinated by the South Sudanese and Vietnamese governments.
Phan said he was looking forward to seeing his relatives after a long separation. He said he spent 25 years in prison before being deported from the United States, without giving details.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
South Sudan previously repatriated a Mexican national also sent to the East African country under Trump’s deportations last year. At least eight people have been deported to South Sudan from the U.S. under the scheme.
