The United States once cheered the creation of South Sudan as an independent nation. Now the Trump administration has abruptly revoked the visas of all South Sudanese, saying the country’s government has failed to accept the return of its citizens “in a timely manner.”

The decision means South Sudanese could be returned to a nation again on the brink of civil war or unable to seek the U.S. as a haven.

There was no immediate response from South Sudan’s government, which has struggled since independence from Sudan in 2011 to deliver some of the basic services of a state. Years of conflict have left the country of over 11 million people heavily reliant on aid that has been hit hard by another Trump administration decision — sweeping cuts in foreign assistance.

South Sudan’s people had been granted temporary protected status by the U.S. because of insecurity at home. That status expires May 3.

The euphoria of independence turned to civil war two years later, when rival factions backing President Salva Kiir and deputy Riek Machar opened fire on each other in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, in 2013.

Five years of civil war killed hundreds of thousands of people. A peace deal reached in 2018 has been fragile and not fully implemented, to the frustration of the U.S. and other international backers. Notably, South Sudan still hasn’t held a long-delayed presidential election, and Kiir remains in power.