Bring Our Families Home Campaign

Family members of American hostages & wrongful detainees campaigning for their release. Donate using link below. #BringThemHome #FreedomStartsWithAName

[Bring Our Families Home Campaign @BOFHcampaign]

The public may only just be hearing about American citizen Youlin Chen, but REST ASSURED @POTUS
@realDonaldTrump has been working on his case for a while & even ASKED XI ABOUT CHEN when they met back in May. Chinese have done nothing since then. Chen is the only American currently designated as wrongfully detained in China by @StateDept @SecRubio. 🇺🇸

https://t.co/eEzEWHTiXv

@SebGorka @SenMarkey @HouseForeignGOP
@SFRCdems @SenatorRisch @SenateForeign
@HouseForeign @USAmbChina @RepMoolenaar
@ChinaSelect @CECCgov @KatiePavlich
@jaketapper @wolfblitzer @jmhansler
@GillianHTurner @margbrennan @SecRubio
@SenWarren @ChrisVanHollen @RepStephenLynch

[@NedaSharghi @NedaSharghi]

@SenateForeign @POTUS Thank you for your dedication to this issue and for all that you do to support @potus’s efforts to free Kamran, Reza, and all of our American hostages and wrongful detainees.

[Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman @SenateForeign]

Once again, @POTUS has demonstrated his ability to free Americans wrongfully detained abroad. I’m thrilled another family is reunited. I will continue my work with the Admin to secure the unconditional release of two Americans held in Iranian prisons: Kamran Hekmati and Reza Valizadeh. https://t.co/G1b1HLqzDV

[Free Reza V @freerezav]

Thank you @SenateForeign and @SenatorRisch for advocating for Reza

[Bring Our Families Home Campaign @BOFHcampaign]

Though Dena Karari was not a member of our @BOFHcampaign, we are nonetheless ECSTATIC at the news of her release. Gives us HOPE that @POTUS @realDonaldTrump is working on freeing wrongfully detained Americans, whether their cases are public or not or they are designated or not. Our Campaign extends our GRATITUDE to President Trump and his team for filling us with hope that the same news will one day be about our two campaign members, Kamran Hekmati and Reza Valizadeh, both of whom are designated wrongfully detained by @SecRubio and continue to be wrongfully detained by Iran. 🇺🇸🙏

https://t.co/ylAUyQhc8j

@SebGorka @StateSPEHA @aboehler @SEPeaceMissions @jaredkushner

[Pavel Butorin @PashaButorin]

Chuck Zimmerman is stuck in a Russian prison, "ultimately a hostage to the whims of Vladimir Putin and whatever state the U.S.-Russian relationship might be at the moment," writes Dwayne Yancey of @CardinalNewsVA: https://t.co/txBInqdykZ

His health has deteriorated "due to the poor diet prisoners in Russia are served," Kieran Ramsey of Global Reach tells Yancey. There's no apparent diplomatic progress securing Zimmerman's release. Like other Americans currently held in Russia, he lacks the U.S. "wrongfully detained" designation.

In June 2025, a Russian naval vessel intercepted Zimmerman’s sailboat in international waters and forced him to port in Russia. He was charged with gun smuggling and sentenced to five years in prison, and he’s now in a prison very close to the fighting in Ukraine.

Russia has been snatching up Westerners where it can and using them as leverage for prisoner swaps - for Russian spies and war criminals. Russia is a state sponsor of wrongful detention and should be designated as such by the U.S. government.

I hope Chuck is released soon and reunites with his sister, Robin Stultz, who has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and build more political pressure to secure his freedom.

[Bring Our Families Home Campaign @BOFHcampaign]

Though Dena Karari was not a member of our @BOFHcampaign, we are nonetheless ECSTATIC at the news of her release. Gives us HOPE that @POTUS @realDonaldTrump is working on freeing wrongfully detained Americans, whether their cases are public or not or they are designated or not. Our Campaign extends our GRATITUDE to President Trump and his team for filling us with hope that the same news will one day be about our two campaign members, Kamran Hekmati and Reza Valizadeh, both of whom are designated wrongfully detained by @SecRubio and continue to be wrongfully detained by Iran. 🇺🇸🙏

https://t.co/ylAUyQhc8j

@SebGorka @StateSPEHA @aboehler @SEPeaceMissions @jaredkushner

[Bring Our Families Home Campaign @BOFHcampaign]

“American scientist Youlin Chen has been jailed in China for more than 600 days on espionage charges. CNN’s Mike Valerio explains his case and why his family is speaking out now.”
@CNN @ValerioCNN

VIDEO ⤵️
https://t.co/OpcrZmBphI

[Bring Our Families Home Campaign @BOFHcampaign]

“Dr. Chen’s wife, Yufang Rong, said that President Donald Trump raised his case when he met Mr. Xi in May in Beijing. She hoped Mr. Trump would raise it again when the two leaders hold a summit in Washington in September.”

https://t.co/jQqiDHgLgH

[Jonathan Cheng @JChengWSJ]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on March 19 designated Chen, 54, as “wrongfully detained.” The Trump administration has withheld an announcement to allow space for high-level diplomacy aimed at securing his freedom, according to his wife, Yufang Rong.
https://t.co/n6AflWQA4u

[Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman @SenateForeign]

I know @POTUS will do everything in his power to bring Dr. Chen home to his wife, Yufang Rong. She has been a tireless advocate for his release, and I am eager to see them reunited. Responsible governments do not use Americans as political leverage – a message worth remembering.

[James W. Foley Legacy Foundation @JamesFoleyFund]

New reporting from @Reuters reveals that American seismologist Dr. Youlin Chen has been detained in China for nearly two years and now faces closed‑door espionage charges despite his long career studying nuclear test detection and his designation by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained.

His wife, Dr. Yufang Rong, said “I believe they will convict him no matter what and the trial will be behind closed doors.”

His case underscores the urgent need for sustained diplomacy and for continued support for families fighting for their loved ones’ freedom.

Read in entirety here: https://t.co/qPI5wKpNf3

[Yufang Rong @YufangRong]

I am so grateful to have @SebGorka and other senior members of the Trump Administration advocating for the freedom of Dr. Youlin Chen. @SenMarkey @HouseForeignGOP @SFRCdems @SenatorRisch @SenateForeign @HouseForeign @USAmbChina @RepMoolenaar @ChinaSelect @CECCgov @SecRubio

[Bring Our Families Home Campaign @BOFHcampaign]

"In March, a bipartisan delegation of Virginia lawmakers in Washington — Rep. Ben Cline, Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine — sent a joint letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio asking him to designate Zimmerman as “wrongfully detained.” That’s the legal language to denote political prisoners, and it also triggers some provisions of American law: to elevate the case to the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and to make financial resources available to the prisoner’s family to travel to Washington twice a year to speak with government officials.

So far, that designation has not happened and seems unlikely to happen. The U.S. government under Donald Trump hasn’t designated any Americans held in Russia as “wrongfully detained.” The Joe Biden administration designated seven; all were eventually released."

https://t.co/Jy0VCuvNkb

[Bring Our Families Home Campaign @BOFHcampaign]

“I have not been able to speak with my husband for over 600 days and am concerned for his health and well-being,” Yufang Rong, Chen’s wife, said in a statement released by Global Reach, which has been advising the family since Chen’s detention.

“President Trump has taken a personal interest in freeing Youlin. Since taking office, he has already freed 106 people and I know that he and his team will bring Youlin home to us,” Rong said."

https://t.co/gVvcsAIeXi

[Bring Our Families Home Campaign @BOFHcampaign]

This ⤵️ means everything....

[Sebastian Gorka DrG @SebGorka]

Bringing all Americans home is the priority for President @realDonaldTrump.

That includes your husband, Youlin Chen.

Be strong. This Administration is on your side.
@WhiteHouse

[Sebastian Gorka DrG @SebGorka]

Bringing all Americans home is the priority for President @realDonaldTrump.

That includes your husband, Youlin Chen.

Be strong. This Administration is on your side.
@WhiteHouse

[Yufang Rong @YufangRong]

Thank you @realDonaldTrump for fighting for my husband 🇺🇸 Youlin Chen, the only U.S. wrongful detainee held in China for 600+ days.@SebGorka @SenMarkey @HouseForeignGOP @SFRCdems @SenatorRisch @SenateForeign @HouseForeign @USAmbChina @RepMoolenaar @ChinaSelect @CECCgov @SecRubio

[Free Zack Shahin | Detained American @FreeZackShahin]

@SecMullinDHS Don’t let another American die.
Please pay attention to this case 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[Free Zack Shahin | Detained American @FreeZackShahin]

Senator Ted Cruz on Zack Shahin: it's past time for him to come home, his health is getting worse, and this stopped being about the allegations — it's about basic humanitarian compassion.

He's right. The case has only gotten stronger since he said it.

@SenTedCruz — thank you for speaking up.

@HouseForeign @SFRCdems @SpeakerJohnson @StateDept @michaelgwaltz — the argument's already been made. Time to act on it 🙏