A Duke star hoops player may face deportation because of a State Department ruling on South Sudanese visa holders — put into place right before the team lost its Final Four heartbreaking match against Houston.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on social media Saturday that he is “taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders,” which would include Duke University’s starting freshman center, Khaman Maluach.
Maluach, who was born in South Sudan, concluded his freshman season with the Blue Devils’ stunning loss to Houston on Saturday night.
Rubio claimed the restriction was “due to the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner,” meaning the African nation has not said it will take back its migrants booted from the US within a certain time frame.
Maluach declined to speak with reporters after his team’s devastating loss Saturday.
Duke University spokesman Frank Tramble said the school is “looking into the situation and working expeditiously to understand the implications for Duke students.”
A State Department rep told USA TODAY that the decision would “impact all those who have a US visa in a South Sudanese passport and anyone with a South Sudanese passport who is applying for a US visa.
“We will provide further information and instructions to affected visa holders and applicants as it is available,” the representative said.
