President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that aims to punish countries that illegally detain US citizens.

The order will give the State Department the power to impose sanctions or take other measures against countries by creating a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” designation.

The White House said the order is designed to “protect US nationals from wrongful detention abroad by authorizing robust responses against foreign governments engaging in such practices”.

The US government does not publish the number of Americans detained abroad. The Foley Foundation, an advocacy group, stated that at least 54 Americans were wrongfully detained in 17 countries in 2024.

In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the signing an “unprecedented action to impose new consequences on those who wrongfully detain Americans abroad”.

Rubio said the designation could lead to penalties including things like economic sanctions and restrictions to visas, foreign assistance and travel for US passport holders.

He added the new designation is modelled after the state sponsor of terrorism classification so “no nation should want to end up on this list”.

“Anyone who uses an American as a bargaining chip will pay the price,” he said.

The order also applies to non-state actors “controlling significant territory” even if they are not recognised as governments, The White House said.

There is no indication on when the Trump administration would take action against offending countries.

The State Department noted that most detentions or arrests of US nationals abroad happen after legitimate law enforcement incidents or judicial processes.

The White House said the president has secured the release of 72 American detainees.

These include Marc Fogel, an American teacher who was wrongfully detained in a Russian prison, and George Glezmann, who was held by the Taliban in Afghanistan for more than two years.

The Foley Foundation, which was founded to honour journalist James Foley who was kidnapped and killed by ISIS, noted in its 2024 report that cases of wrongful detention accounted for 83% of Americans detained in foreign countries.

During Trump’s first term, Congress passed the Robert Levinson Act that stated that the State Department can determine whether an American is being wrongly detained based on several criteria, such as the fairness of the country’s judicial system or whether they are being held hostage to extract concessions from Washington DC.