President Donald Trump is pressing lawmakers to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and eliminate most mail-in voting.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was designating Afghanistan a state sponsor of wrongful detention, demanding that the country’s ruling Taliban release American citizens the U.S. says are being unjustly held.
“The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions,” he said in a statement as the White House marked U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day. “These despicable tactics need to end.”
“It is not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals,” Rubio continued. “The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever.”
Under an executive order Trump signed in September, Rubio made Iran the first state to be designated a state sponsor of wrongful detention on Feb. 27, a day before the U.S. and Israel began strikes on the country.
