Taken Hostage: How the U.S. Government Frees Hostages Held Abroad
On Monday, October 27th, the Strauss Center for International Security and Law and the Clements Center for National Security hosted Dr. Joshua Geltzer for a conversation on how our government works to free Americans who are wrongfully detained overseas. Dr. Geltzer has served in various senior White House roles, including Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor, where he advised directly on U.S. efforts to secure the release of hostages and wrongful detainees abroad.
In a moderated discussion with Strauss Center Director Adam Klein, Dr. Geltzer discussed current government frameworks in place to handle hostage-taking and the release of wrongful detainees abroad, and how these frameworks were developed in response to hostage crises within the past decade.
Dr. Geltzer touched upon some notable cases of hostage and wrongful detainee tragedies and release deals, before answering questions about how national laws and policies inform and guide the government’s role in negotiating each situation. In 2025, he received the James W. Foley American Hostage Freedom Award for his work to create a new federal structure for recovering Americans held abroad.
Biography
Joshua Geltzer is a partner at WilmerHale, focusing on a wide array of cutting-edge national security issues, including artificial intelligence, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), crisis management, cybersecurity and national security-related litigation. As the former top national security lawyer for the White House, Dr. Geltzer offers both strategic counsel and practical legal advice to clients navigating the statutory and regulatory issues associated with emerging technologies across all sectors.
Dr. Geltzer joined the firm after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President, Deputy White House Counsel, and Legal Advisor to the National Security Council (NSC), providing legal counsel to the President and White House leadership on matters of national defense, intelligence and foreign relations. Before that, he was Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor, where he advised on counterterrorism, election security, migration management, and the release of US hostages and wrongful detainees. Dr. Geltzer also served as Special Assistant to the President and Special Advisor on Countering Domestic Violent Extremism, overseeing the development and implementation of the country’s first-ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.