US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order creating a new “state sponsor of wrongful detention” designation. The policy is meant to punish countries that illegally hold American citizens.
The goal of the designation is to discourage governments from imprisoning Americans without cause and to push them to release detainees. The secretary of state will decide which countries will receive the label.
“Through this Executive Order, actors designated as State Sponsors of Wrongful Detention may face severe penalties including economic sanctions, visa restrictions, foreign assistance restrictions, and travel restrictions for U.S. passport holders,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“The bottom line: Anyone who uses an American as a bargaining chip will pay the price,” he added.
The administration has not said which nations may be targeted, but countries such as Venezuela, Russia, Iran, China, and Afghanistan have histories of detaining Americans without cause. U.S. citizens are currently held in Russia and Afghanistan, while others remain in prisons in China and Iran.
A senior administration official explained that the order could also include “travel restrictions for US passport holders.” At present, Americans cannot travel to North Korea with a U.S. passport unless they receive a special exception from the State Department.
Officials also said countries at risk of the designation would be warned in advance and given time to change their actions. The new rule applies not only to recognized governments but also to groups that control large territories, like the Taliban in Afghanistan. The U.S. does not recognize the Taliban as a government, but at least one American, Mahmood Habibi, is still detained there.
The executive order gives the administration access to the same set of penalties used against nations labeled as state sponsors of terrorism. “You don’t have to be funding Hamas, Hezbollah or al-Qaeda,” one official explained. “You can simply be trying to exploit our citizens wrongfully.”
Advocates welcomed the move. The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation called it “a critical step forward in confronting a deeply entrenched practice that violates international norms and endangers innocent lives.” They urged all countries currently holding Americans to release them immediately.
The family of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who was abducted in Iran in 2007, also praised the order. Levinson was never seen publicly after his disappearance, and in 2020 his family said they believed he had died in Iranian custody, though Tehran denied responsibility. “Every government guilty of this barbaric conduct must understand that they will be held accountable and will pay a price backed by the full force of the United States government,” his family said in a statement.
Global Reach, a nonprofit that works to bring Americans home, said the new designation would give the U.S. more power to pressure countries and discourage so-called “hostage diplomacy.”
Paul Whelan, who was wrongfully detained in Russia for nearly six years, said the move is “a good start,” but urged the government to also make sure returning hostages receive proper care.
Former President Joe Biden had signed an executive order in 2022 declaring hostage-taking and wrongful detention of Americans a national emergency. His administration also added the “D” risk indicator on State Department travel advisories to warn travelers where wrongful detention is a threat.
