Senator Chris Coons hails the passage of a new law addressing American citizens wrongfully detained by foreign countries.
Coons’s bill, the Countering Wrongful Detention Act, passed late last month as part of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act and was signed into law by President Biden.
Coons says there are some 30 to 40 Americans wrongfully detained overseas, and notesthe Biden administration has brought more than 70 Americans home.
“Whether it's Iran or Russia or the PRC, there's countries that have repeatedly seized Americans, detained them wrongfully, and used it as a way to try and leverage us to do things that they want, like release people who they want to get back," he said.
The law requires presidential administrations to have a strategy to handle wrongful detentions. It also provides more funding to enforce sanctions against countries that wrongfully detain US citizens. Coons says he is proud the measure passed with bipartisan support and applauded his Republican co-sponsor, Idaho’s James Risch.
“We share a concern that as we work hard to get Americans released, we also deter our foreign adversaries from just simply picking up more Americans," Coons said.
He added that he is optimistic about President-elect Trump’s choice for Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Adam Boehler.
“I've already met with him and talked with him and I'm optimistic that we'll see some movement here to both secure the return of Americans who are being held wrongfully overseas and deter the future taking of Americans hostage by our adversaries," he said.
Coons also plans to reintroduce legislation that would save wrongfully-detained Americans from suffering financial penalties from things like unpaid taxes during their captivity.
