U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day, 2025

Proclamation 10902 of March 9, 2025

U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day, 2025

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On this U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day, we send
our love, prayers, and support to every American being
held in captivity--and I vow to you, your families, and
your loved ones that we will never forget you, we will
never abandon you, and we commit to returning you
safely home and bringing your captors to justice.

As President, I have no higher obligation than to keep
American citizens free, safe, and secure. My
Administration is proudly taking decisive action to
bring Americans back home where they belong. Since
taking office, I have secured the release of 13
Americans held captive. Six of those Americans
imprisoned in Venezuela are now safely home with their
families, and we had them released in less than 24
hours. Two Americans detained in Afghanistan have been
liberated. Two Americans detained in Belarus have been
returned safely back home. A Pennsylvania teacher,
unjustly held in Russia, is back on American soil,
fulfilling a promise I made to his 95-year-old mother
moments before taking the stage that fateful day in
Butler, Pennsylvania. Additionally, two American-
Israeli citizens who endured months in Hamas captivity
have been reunited with their loved ones.

However, there are still Americans who need to come
home. Every American held unjustly abroad must be
released and returned home. The United States will not
tolerate the unlawful detention of our citizens. I will
continue to bring more Americans back to their loved
ones, and I will not back down until they are home.

Today, we solemnly stand with every American being held
hostage or wrongfully detained and their families who
are enduring bitter uncertainty. We commit to forging a
future rooted in the commonsense principle of peace
through strength. Above all, we ask Almighty God to
keep our hostages and wrongful detainees safe; to
reunite them with their families; and to make America
stronger, safer, more secure, and more prosperous than
ever before.

The Congress, by Public Law 118-31 approved December
22, 2023, has designated March 9 of each year as ``U.S.
Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day.''

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 9,
2025, as U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day. On
this day, as we fly the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee
flag at the White House, I call upon the people of the
United States to observe this day with relevant
programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
ninth.