Rep. Guy Reschenthaler: Bringing Bryan Hagerich home

Many in southwestern Pennsylvania were horrified by the recent gut-wrenching treatment of U.S. tourists in Turks and Caicos, including Somerset County resident Bryan Hagerich.

His family’s vacation started out normally, but when he tried to leave the islands, their beach getaway suddenly turned into a nightmarish reality.

As Hagerich describes, the Turks airport security personnel’s eyes lit up, as if they’d just hit the jackpot, when they found unspent hunting ammunition accidentally left in his luggage. The father of two was whisked away and thrown into a jail cell containing violent criminals for over a week, and was told he may be locked away until his 5-year-old daughter graduates high school. Under Turk and Caicos’ law, a person convicted of possessing ammunition faces a mandatory 12-year minimum prison sentence and hefty fines.

This may seem like the plot to a horror film, but this is what the Pennsylvanian faced over the past four months.

In advance of his sentencing, a bipartisan, bicameral group that included myself and Sen. John Fetterman traveled to Turks and Caicos. We met with Turks and Caicos officials regarding the status of Hagerich and four other arrested Americans, who posted bail and were on house arrest. They blew through their life savings as they waited for their day in court.

It soon became clear that officials on the islands — which rely heavily on the support of U.S. tourists — weren’t willing to work in good faith to help bring him home.

This was outrageous, but not surprising.

We learned that this law unfairly targets Americans. Other non-U.S. citizens charged in similar cases were allowed to leave the islands with just a simple fine and sent back to their country of origin.

On the islands, I met with the U.S. Department of State, and it was clear that the Biden administration doesn’t have a grasp on these cases and isn’t interested in bringing these Americans home. For example, Hagerich did not receive a health and wellness check from the State Department for over two months.

I told Secretary of State Antony Blinken directly during a recent hearing that his department’s work was beneath the dignity of the office. Time and time again, President Biden and bureaucrats in his administration have failed the American people at home and abroad. From southwestern Pennsylvania native Marc Fogel’s wrongful detainment in Russia to the administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration’s leadership on the world stage is feckless and incompetent.

Thankfully, a Turks and Caicos judge gave Hagerich a 52-week suspended sentence and he was released May 21, reuniting with his family back in Pennsylvania on May 24. However, our work is not done. I will not rest until the other Americans are home and this nightmare is put behind them once and for all.

Moving forward, I warn Pennsylvanians to reconsider traveling to the islands until this issue is fully resolved and the government there changes its ill-conceived law and ensures the fair treatment of American tourists.

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler represents Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and serves as chief deputy whip.