With their TPS expiring in January, South Sudanese Americans face possible deportation

The Trump administration’s plan to end TPS designation for South Sudanese nationals on Jan. 5 could force hundreds to return to a country beset by corruption.

Alex Lomong is a man of many labels: He’s a Virginia resident, was a decorated Division I athlete on the Ohio State University track team, and is a middle-distance runner whose times put him in sight of qualifying for the Olympic trials.

He is also an immigrant from South Sudan who was granted Temporary Protected Status. Now, with the Trump administration’s plan to end TPS designation for South Sudanese nationals on Jan. 5, Lomong is one of many facing an uncertain future in the United States.

“Ever since I’ve been here, this is the only home I knew,” Lomong, 28, told NBC News.

Born in a small village in what is now South Sudan, Lomong fled with his mother to Kenya in 2003 as violence at home escalated. He came to the United States in 2009 at age 11 on a student visa and quickly emerged as a standout runner. The end of TPS could mean that he, as well as hundreds of others, will be forced to return to a country with widespread famine and political instability.

“Being deported there is basically like a suicide mission,” Lomong said.