Van Hollen Urges Pompeo to Take Immediate Action to Help Americans Abroad

Statement

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging the State Department to provide immediate assistance and guidance to Americans abroad. As the Senator notes in his letter, his office has received hundreds of inquiries from constituents on this matter, many of whom have received no help from the State Department.

The Senator writes, "As the Department of State prepares to release an advisory instructing all Americans abroad to return to the United States, I am writing to express my grave concerns about the thousands of American citizens stranded abroad in countries that have restricted travel due to the coronavirus outbreak. My office has received hundreds of urgent inquiries on behalf of constituents in Argentina, Cambodia, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Morocco, Peru, Uzbekistan, and El Salvador. In most cases, the Department of State has provided no assistance, or clear guidance, to facilitate their safe travel back to the United States. The Department's anticipated advisory, absent meaningful support from the U.S. government, will only contribute to existing panic and confusion."

The Senator goes on to provide examples of Marylanders' cases, stating, "My constituents range from students on international programs to elderly Americans with serious underlying health conditions. For instance, a 68 year-old American citizen, with cancer and diabetes, is stranded in Morocco and may soon run out of medication. A 70 year-old American citizen with grave respiratory issues, who requires regular physician monitoring, is similarly unable to return home. When my office inquired on behalf of these individuals, we received a generic response several days later urging American citizens to contact commercial airlines directly."

Source