Key facts
- Tuan Phan, a Vietnamese national, was deported to South Sudan by the U.S. in May 2025.
- Phan was among eight men with U.S. criminal convictions sent to South Sudan.
- The deportees were held in a supervised gated house in Juba under armed guard.
- Phan has been repatriated to Vietnam after over a year in detention.
- South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Phan's repatriation on Friday.
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — A Vietnamese national, Tuan Phan, who was deported to South Sudan by the U.S. under a controversial third-country deportation program, has been repatriated to Vietnam after spending more than a year in detention. South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Phan's repatriation on Friday, with a spokesperson expressing gratitude for his disciplined and joyful demeanor while in custody.
Phan, 44, was among eight men sent to Africa in May 2025. Their deportation was initially blocked by a federal judge due to procedural irregularities, leading to a stopover at a U.S. military base in Djibouti. A Supreme Court ruling in July 2025 allowed their removal to Juba, South Sudan.
All eight men had criminal convictions in the U.S. but had completed their prison sentences before being taken into custody. At least seven African nations have agreed to accept deportees who are not their citizens in exchange for millions of dollars from the U.S.
The choice of South Sudan, a country with a poor human rights record and political instability, as a receiving nation was particularly controversial. The United Nations reported that armed conflict displaced over half a million people in South Sudan in 2025.
Phan, who moved to the U.S. as a child in 1991, received a 25-year prison sentence in 2000 for a fatal shooting. His removal order was issued in 2009, and he was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement upon completing his sentence in March 2025.
According to a U.S. Senate report, the deportees were held in a supervised gated house in Juba. Michael Bochenek of Human Rights Watch expressed concerns about the lack of independent checks on the detainees' treatment and conditions, raising questions about South Sudan's adherence to human rights norms.
While details of U.S. agreements with other countries to accept deportees are public, the specifics of the South Sudan arrangement remain unclear. State Department documents indicate South Sudan requested sanctions relief for a former official and assistance in prosecuting an opposition leader from the U.S. in exchange for accepting the men.