President Donald J. Trump has signed a new Executive Order aimed at increasing protections for U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained abroad. The order gives the Secretary of State authority to designate foreign countries as State Sponsors of Wrongful Detention if they are found to be involved in or supporting such practices.
According to the White House, this designation will allow the Secretary of State to implement measures such as sanctions, travel restrictions, inadmissibility of nationals from those countries, export controls, and other actions permitted by existing laws. The goal is to deter and respond to wrongful detentions involving U.S. citizens.
The order also includes provisions for removing the designation if a foreign government releases wrongfully detained Americans, shows changes in leadership or policy on wrongful detention, and offers credible assurances against future violations. In addition, the policy applies not only to recognized governments but also to entities controlling significant territory that may be involved in wrongful detentions.
President Trump stated that the move is intended to counter what he described as an increased use of wrongful detentions by foreign adversaries as a means of coercion. "Under the Biden Administration, our adversaries learned that they could take Americans as bargaining chips and that little to nothing would be done about it," according to the statement released by the White House. "Biden’s weakness resulted in 24 more Americans taken captive than rescued in four years."
The administration cited recent cases including Marc Fogel’s detention in Russia for over three years as examples of Americans being exploited through wrongful detention. "This Order gives the Secretary of State the ability to leverage existing tools against those adversaries to protect Americans abroad and proactively combat this coercive tactic," said President Trump.
Highlighting efforts since returning to office, President Trump noted his administration has secured the release of 72 detained Americans abroad. These include Marc Fogel, who was returned home in February; Ksenia Karelina, freed after 14 months’ detention in Russia; Keith Siegel, held hostage by Hamas for 484 days; George Glezmann, detained by the Taliban for 836 days; Ryan Corbett and William McKenty; and Edan Alexander, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen held by Hamas for 584 days.
"President Trump has consistently advocated for a strong, America First foreign policy that deters adversaries from targeting U.S. nationals," according to the statement from the White House.