To provide the United States Government with additional tools to deter state and non-state actors from wrongfully detaining United States nationals for political leverage, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReported by Mr. Risch, with an amendment
Mr. Risch (for himself and Mr. Coons) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
Authorizes the Secretary of State to designate countries as State Sponsors of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention when they hold Americans improperly. Creates new tools to pressure countries to release wrongfully detained citizens.
Who Benefits and How
- Wrongfully detained Americans and families gain new pressure tools for release
- State Department receives explicit authority to designate and sanction offending countries
- U.S. diplomatic efforts strengthened with formal designation framework
Who Bears the Burden and How
- Countries designated as sponsors face diplomatic and potential economic consequences
- State Department must maintain designation process and make determinations
- Foreign governments face 30-day deadline to release after official notification
Key Provisions
- Secretary of State may designate countries as State Sponsors of Wrongful Detention
- Designation triggers if country fails to release within 30 days of notification
- Covers direct government detention and government-supported detention
- Secretary can terminate designation if country reforms
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Creates new designation for countries sponsoring wrongful detention of Americans and establishes sanctions
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Create formal framework to pressure countries holding Americans wrongfully"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of State
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology