Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2024

This Act may be cited as the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2024.

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 306 the following:

The Secretary of State, in consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, may designate a foreign country that has provided support for or directly engaged in the unlawful or wrongful detention of a United States national as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention based on any of the following criteria:

(1) The unlawful or wrongful detention of a United States national occurs in the foreign country.

(2) The government of the foreign country has failed to release an unlawfully or wrongfully detained United States national after having been notified by the Department of State.

(3) Actions taken by the government of the foreign country indicate that the government is responsible for, complicit in, or materially supports the unlawful or wrongful detention of a United States national, including by acting as described in paragraph (2) after having been notified by the Department of State.

(4) The actions of a state or nonstate actor in the foreign country, including any previous action relating to unlawful or wrongful detention or hostage taking of a United States national, pose a risk to the safety and security of United States nationals abroad sufficient to warrant designation of the foreign country as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention, as determined by the Secretary.

The Secretary may terminate the designation of a foreign country under subsection (a) if the Secretary certifies to Congress that the government of the foreign country—

(1) has released the United States nationals unlawfully or wrongfully detained within the territory of the foreign country;

(2) has positively contributed to the release of United States nationals taken hostage within the territory of the foreign country or from the custody of a nonstate entity;

(3) has demonstrated changes in leadership or policies with respect to unlawful or wrongful detention and hostage taking; or

(4) has provided assurances that the government of the foreign country will not engage or be complicit in or support acts described in subsection (a).

The Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on—

(i) each designation of a foreign country as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention under subsection (a) not later than 5 days after such designation is made; and

(ii) each termination of a designation under subsection (b) not later than 30 days after such termination is made.

In each report submitted under subparagraph (A)(i) with respect to the designation of a foreign country as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention, the Secretary shall include—

(I) the justification for the designation; and

(II) a description of any action taken by the United States Government, including the Secretary of State or the head of any other relevant Federal agency, in response to the designation to deter the unlawful or wrongful detention or hostage-taking of foreign nationals in the country.

In each report submitted under clause (i)(II) with respect to the termination of a designation of a foreign country as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention, the Secretary shall provide the justification for the termination, including the factor described in subsection (b) that supports the termination.

Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall brief Congress on the following:

(A) Whether any of the following countries should be designated as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention under subsection (a):

(i) Afghanistan.

(ii) Eritrea.

(iii) The Islamic Republic of Iran.

(iv) The People's Republic of China.

(v) The Russian Federation.

(vi) Syria.

(vii) Venezuela under the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

(B) The steps taken by the Secretary of State and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies to deter the unlawful and wrongful detention of United States nationals and to respond to such detentions, including—

(i) any engagement with private sector search engine companies to optimize the distribution of travel advisories; and

(ii) any engagement with private tourism companies responsible for promoting travel to foreign countries engaged in the unlawful or wrongful detention of United States nationals.

(C) An assessment of a possible expansion of chapter 97 of title 28, United States Code (commonly known as the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976) to include an exception from asset seizure immunity for State Sponsors of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention.

(D) A detailed plan on the manner by which a geographic travel restriction could be instituted against State Sponsors of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention.

(E) The progress made in multilateral fora, including the United Nations and other international organizations, to address the unlawful and wrongful detention of United States nationals, in addition to nationals of partners and allies of the United States in foreign countries.

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs and the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on the countries listed under paragraph (2)(A) and actions taken by the Secretary of State and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies to deter the wrongful detention of United States nationals, including any steps taken in accordance with paragraph (2)(B).

The Secretary shall make available on a publicly accessible website of the Department of State, and regularly update, a list of foreign countries designated as State Sponsors of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention under subsection (a).

Upon designation of a foreign country as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall conduct a comprehensive review of the use of existing authorities to respond to and deter the unlawful or wrongful detention of United States nationals in the foreign country, including—

(1) sanctions available under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.);

(2) visa restrictions available under section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 (division F of Public Law 118–47; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note) or any other provision of Federal law;

(3) sanctions available under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.);

(4) imposition of a geographic travel restriction on citizens of the United States;

(5) restrictions on assistance provided to the government of the country under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or any other provision of Federal law;

(6) restrictions on the export of certain goods to the country under the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.), or any other Federal law; and

(7) designating the government of the country as a government that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism pursuant to—

(A) section 1754(c)(1)(A)(i) of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4813(c)(1)(A)(i));

(B) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371);

(C) section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)); or

(D) any other provision of law.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to imply that the United States Government formally recognizes any particular country or the government of such country as legitimate.

The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 305 the following:

Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2024, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, in coordination with the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, the Hostage Response Group, and relevant agencies, as appropriate, shall submit to the President and the appropriate congressional committees a report that identifies and recommends options and strategies to reduce the likelihood of United States nationals being unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad or taken hostage.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury for fiscal year 2026 $2,000,000 to implement the sanctions authorities provided by section 306 of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741d) and Executive Order 14078 (22 U.S.C. 1741 note prec.; relating to bolstering efforts to bring hostages and wrongfully detained United States nationals home).

There is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 to the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs to expend on travel advisory advertisement campaigns regarding travel made by United States nationals to countries under Level 4 Do Not Travel advisories issued by the Department of State Travel Advisory System.

If less than the $2,000,000 authorized in subsection (a) is expended on travel advisory advertisement campaigns during fiscal year 2025, the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs shall brief Congress on the justification of the amount expended for such purpose.

Chapter 423 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

An air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent who sells, in the United States, a ticket for foreign air transportation of a passenger to a country or other geographic area with a D or K indicator issued by the Department of State Travel Advisory System shall require the passenger listed on the ticket to certify that the passenger—

(1) has reviewed the travel advisory of the Department of State applicable to such country or other geographic area; and

(2) understands the risks involved with traveling to such country or other geographic area.

For purposes of this section:

The term D indicator means a travel advisory issued by the Department of State that indicates a risk of wrongful detention of a United States national.

The term K indicator means a travel advisory issued by the Department of State that indicates a criminal or terrorist individual or group has threatened to seize, detain, kill, or injure individuals (or has seized, detained, killed, or injured individuals) to compel a third party (including a governmental organization) to meet certain requirements as a condition of release.

The analysis for chapter 423 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 42308 the following:

Section 6103 of the Department of State Authorization Act of 2023 (division F of Public Law 118–31; 22 U.S.C. 211a note) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking should and inserting shall.

Section 1 of title IX of the Act of June 15, 1917 (22 U.S.C. 213) is amended by adding at the end the following: Each passport application made available to potential applicants (DS–11) and each passport renewal application made available to current passport holders (DS–82) shall include a form that, if completed, indicates the applicant's consent for the disclosure of information otherwise protected under section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Privacy Act of 1974) in the event such applicant is determined to be unlawfully or wrongfully detained by a foreign government. Declining to complete such form shall not impact the issuance of a passport to a qualified applicant or diplomatic efforts to secure the release of a United States national from the custody of a foreign government or entity..

Section 302 of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741) is amended—

(1) in subsection (d)(8), by striking In this subsection and inserting In this section; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

Not less frequently than every 180 days, the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs and the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs shall review the cases, identified through official government channels to either bureau, for which there is potential credible information that a United States national is being unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad.

Not later than 30 days after each review under subparagraph (A), the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs and the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs shall jointly submit to Congress a classified report identifying each United States national whose case was reviewed under subparagraph (A) but who has not, as of the date of the submission of the report, been determined by the Secretary to be unlawfully or wrongfully detained under subsection (a).

Not later than 30 days after the date of the submission of the report under subparagraph (B), the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs shall notify a family member or legal representative of each United States national identified in the report.

Except as provided in subparagraph (B), and to the extent practical, not later than 180 days after the date on which the Secretary of State receives an assessment from the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs or the head of any other relevant bureau of the Department of State that credible information exists that a United States national is being detained unlawfully or wrongfully, the Secretary shall determine whether the United States national is in fact being unlawfully or wrongfully detained.

The Secretary may waive the requirement under subparagraph (A) to make an unlawful or wrongful detention determination if the Secretary—

(I) determines that making such a determination may jeopardize the safety or interests of the United States national being detained abroad or the national security interests of the United States; and

(II) submits to Congress a report describing the reasons for the waiver.

A waiver under clause (i) shall expired on the date that is 180 days after the date on which the Secretary submits the report on the waiver to Congress pursuant to clause (i)(II).

The Secretary may renew a waiver granted pursuant to clause (i) in the manner provided under such clause.

Section 302 of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741), as amended by sections 201 and 202, is further amended by adding at the end the following:

Upon the release of a United States national taken hostage or determined to be unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad and the return of that national, the President shall issue to that national a letter, to be known as a declaration of invalidity, that officially declares the detention abroad of the national as invalid for the purpose of completing any documentation that warrants a background investigation or review of prior offenses, such as a conviction.

The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.), as amended by section 102, is further amended by inserting after section 305A the following:

The President shall establish an advisory council, to be known as the Advisory Council on Hostage Taking and Unlawful or Wrongful Detention (in this section referred to as the Advisory Council), to advise the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, the Hostage Response Group, and the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell with respect to Federal policies regarding hostage-taking and unlawful or wrongful detention.

The President shall invite individuals to the Advisory Council, which shall be comprised of—

(A) United States nationals who have been unlawfully or wrongfully detained or taken hostage abroad;

(B) family members of such United States nationals; and

(C) not fewer than 2 experts on areas including hostage taking, wrongful detention, international relations, rule of law, and counterterrorism who have been recommended by the Secretary of State.

The term of a member of the Advisory Council shall be 3 years.

A member of the Advisory Council shall not be considered a Federal employee and shall not be compensated for service on the Advisory Council, but may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Advisory Council shall submit to the President and the appropriate congressional committees a report setting forth the recommendations of the Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the date of the enactment of this section.

Section 305(a) of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741c(a)) is amended to read as follows:

There shall be a Hostage Response Group, which shall be—

(A) chaired by the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs; and

(B) convened on a regular basis at the White House, and as needed at the request of the National Security Council, to further the safe recovery of United States nationals held unlawfully or wrongfully abroad.

The Hostage Response Group may also be tasked with coordinating the United States Government response to other hostage takings abroad in which the United States has a national interest as specifically referred to the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell by the National Security Council Deputies Committee.