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Duke basketball star Khaman Maluach is among the South Sudanese nationals facing possible deportation due to the Trump administration's new visa policy.
On Saturday (April 5), Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the administration would be revoking all visas of South Sudanese passport-holders because the transitional government declined to accept U.S. deportees from the country in a "timely manner," per NBC News.
“It is time for the Transitional Government of South Sudan to stop taking advantage of the United States,” Rubio said in a statement.
The announcement came just hours before Maluach and the Duke Blue Devils lost in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament against the University of Houston.
In a statement, Frank Tramble, vice president of communications, marketing, and public affairs at Duke, acknowledged how the State Department's announcement could affect university students.
“We are looking into the situation and working expeditiously to understand any implications for Duke students,” Tramble said.
According to travel data from the State Department, 46 nonimmigrant visas were issued to South Sudanese nationals in January. Other East African countries, including Uganda and Tanzania, were issued hundreds of nonimmigrant visas that same month.
The Trump administration said Saturday that the visa ban, effective immediately, would also include a pause on the issuance of any new visas. Rubio noted that the policy would be reviewed "when South Sudan is in full cooperation."
Amid his uncertain future in the U.S., Maluach, a freshman center, is still poised to be a first-round pick in June's NBA draft. Maluach earned double figures in Duke's Sweet Sixteen game against the University of Arizona and the Elight Game against the University of Alama before the Blue Devils lost the semifinals.
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