(NewsNation) —At least 40 U.S. nationals are wrongfully detained around the world, and a new report has found several structural and policy challenges within the government that are hindering efforts for their safe return to the U.S.
Among those detained: a Marine Corps veteran who fell ill in Russia, a retired ship captain who traveled to Iran for his father’s funeral and an American held in Saudi Arabia on an exit ban after posting critical opinions on social media about the kingdom.
The report draws on 35 interviews from the families of these and several other hostages and wrongful detainees, U.S. government officials and subject matter experts, according to the Foley Foundation, which published the report.
The findings reveal several inefficiencies lurking in systems designed to help facilitate retrievals of U.S nationals that have caused them to languish in captivity for years, Diane Foley, president of the Foley Foundation, told NewsNation.
Foley’s son James was an American journalist who was murdered by ISIS in 2014.
“A lot of these people have been in captivity for many years, and as soon as some are freed, these governments or terrorist groups take more so that they can continue to have influence over us,” she said.
“There’s a real need to stop this circular threat that is increasing and continuing,” she said. “It really becomes a national security threat for any Americans who are traveling.”
Among some of the concerns cited in the report are issues enforcing the Levinson Act, difficulties in designating individuals as captives and families of hostages not receiving the assistance they need to advocate for the return of their loved one.
The Levinson Act needs to be updated
Among some of the issues still causing delays are holes in the Levinson Act, a federal law signed by President Donald Trump in his first administration that addresses the issue of U.S. nationals being unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad.
The law states 11 criteria that would designate a U.S. national as being a wrongful detainee, but that process has not been transparent and often not binding, the report states.
“Evidence suggests that the executive branch does not treat the 11 factors outlined in the Levinson Act as mandatory—meaning that the presence of one or more factors does not automatically trigger a wrongful detention designation,” it reads.
To counter this, the law needs to be amended to specify which factors for determining wrongful detention are mandatory, the report suggests.
The law also doesn’t cover exit bans, official government orders that prevent a specific person from leaving a country. China and Saudi Arabia are among the nations that frequently leverage exit bans to coerce individuals.
“Because the individual is not imprisoned, exit bans are not viewed as unlawful detentions under international law,” the report states.
Structural delays in bringing home hostages
According to the report, the prolonged timeline for recovering Americans stems in part from a “lack of empowerment for the agencies tasked with bringing them home, compounded by competing national security priorities.”
Notably, during the latter half of the Biden administration, several individuals shared that the National Security Council took operational control of cases, instead of fully empowering the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Office to negotiate a resolution, the report states.
This interference contributed to delays in resolving cases, leaving Americans in captivity.
The report notes that there were instances in which the National Security Council extended the timeline for recovery, either because its staff did not like the proposed deal or thought a better deal could be reached.
This interference resulted in cases that could have been resolved in two months taking two years instead, the report found.
These roadblocks must be streamlined, and agencies must ensure negotiations to free Americans are insulated from other foreign policy concerns.
Over the years, the Foundation has seen a shift in the entities that detain Americans from being terrorist organizations to more recently being rogue governments, Foley said.
“This is done to interfere with foreign policy,” she said, adding that getting these hostages home has another layer of complexity now.
Hostages still waiting to be freed
Among those still waiting for freedom are Americans trapped in Russia, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, according to the Foley Foundation.
U.S citizen Mahmood Habibi was arrested by the Taliban, along with approximately 30 other employees of the company he worked at, shortly after the strike that killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in 2022.
Habibi has been held in the country without being charged with a crime, having contact with his wife and young daughter or being able to speak with American diplomats, the Foley Foundation said.
Olga Jezler, a legal permanent resident of the United States, was imprisoned in Russia in 2022 after she voluntarily declared that she possessed legally purchased CBD capsules when she arrived to take care of her cancer-stricken sister.
She was arrested and falsely charged with drug trafficking and sentenced to 10 years in a Russian penal colony, according to the foundation’s report.
American Zack Shahin was kidnapped from the Dubai Rulers Court in 2008 and remained in a prison under brutal conditions for nearly 10 years without a conviction.
He was eventually sentenced in 2017 to spend his whole life in jail.
Trump’s executive order on hostages
Trump signed an executive order earlier this month that would allow the U.S. to designate nations as state sponsors of wrongful detention. The order also allows the threat of associated sanctions to deter Americans from being detained abroad or taken hostage.
The order would give the State Department power to target countries falling under the label with penalties such as economic restrictions, restrictions on visas for those involved and travel restrictions for Americans to those countries.
Foley applauded the move, adding that Trump has been one of the biggest allies in helping facilitate the return of U.S. nationals.
“We want to applaud the Trump administration because their prioritization of this issue has been truly extraordinary. More than 70 people have come home since January of this year, which is extraordinary,” she said.
Trump’s new order would essentially blacklist nations that detain Americans and would ensure deterrence and accountability so that the cycle of detention doesn’t continue, she said.
Americans’ safety abroad is a bipartisan issue that can affect anyone who leaves the country, she added.
“This could happen to anybody. It could happen to a loved one who’s studying abroad, or one of our diplomats, or a businessman who’s doing work internationally. It could really happen to anybody.”
