U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) Wednesday called on President Obama to get personally engaged and work to resolve the case of Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, who has been imprisoned in Mexico for 184 days, and bring our Marine back home.
“It is a dereliction of duty on the part of the President,” Smith said at a hearing on Capitol Hill entitled Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi: Our Marine in Mexican Custody. “And not just that he hasn’t called [Mexico's] President Nieto, but that he has not put the full court press on the Mexican government to release Andrew.” Click here to watch video
The committee heard testimony Oct. 1 from Sgt. Tahmooressi’s mother Jill Tahmooressi; Lieutenant Commander Montel B. Williams, USN, (Retired); Mr. Pete Hegseth, CEO of the Concerned Veterans for America; and Sergeant Robert Buchanan, USMC, (Retired) who served with Sgt. Tahmooressi in Afghanistan.
Mrs. Tahmooressi described her son as"privileged to serve the war on terror" and "willing to lose his life for freedom, liberty and elimination of oppression."
All witnesses expressed concerns for the safety and wellbeing of Sgt. Tahmooressi and the inaction on the part of this Administration to make any effort to contact the family in their time of need or to address this injustice directly with the Government of Mexico.
Smith also stressed how Sgt. Tahmooressi’s continued incarceration and declining health could have long-term negative consequences for his wellbeing.
“I served 26 years on the Veterans Affairs Committee, including a stint as chair,” said Smith. “Six months of inattention to any service-connected disability—physical or psychological—causes that condition to fester and worsen. The ongoing appeal to the Mexican government is simple and direct: release Andrew now so he can procure badly needed treatment for PTSD. Andrew’s release must be immediate, or he is likely to get sicker.
“Our Marine Sergeant is suffering from physiological wounds as a result of his service to our country and we must press for an expeditious and just resolution of his case and a speedy homecoming, not only for his own wellbeing but also the wellbeing of his family, which has been so tirelessly advocating for his return.”
Smith has worked on numerous cases where Americans citizens have been unjustly incarcerated overseas, including the imprisonment of American Jacob Ostreicher in Bolivia, or wrongfully separated from their loved ones, as in the case of David Goldman of New Jersey and his son Sean.
“I believe that for all Americans, military or civilian, who have been unjustly imprisoned or held, our government must do everything possible to secure their release and reunification with their loved ones,” Smith said.
“I understand how difficult it can be in dealing with foreign governments—even our own neighbors—on behalf of our citizens caught up in their legal processes,” said Smith. “But we must continue to pressure the Administration and the Mexican government to release Sgt. Tahmooressi, so he may be returned to the loving embrace of his family and find the peace and recovery he so very much deserves.”
Smith is a co-sponsor of H Res 620, a resolution calling upon the President to utilize the full authority of his office to secure the immediate release of Sgt. Tahmooressi, and for the Government of Mexico to return him to the United States with all possible speed so he can receive the appropriate medical assistance.
