‘Bring them home’: Families of jailed Americans urge Trump to seek their release during Xi meeting

As President Donald Trump meets in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, two American families are holding out hope that the meeting will open a way for the release of their relatives, who have been in Chinese prisons for more than a decade.

Dawn Michelle Hunt, 54, of Chicago and Nelson Wells Jr., 52, of Louisiana were separately convicted of drug smuggling during trips to China and sent to prison in 2014. Their families have said Hunt and Wells were unwitting victims of drug trafficking schemes and were manipulated or deceived into transporting narcotics.

They have urged Trump to personally raise their relatives’ cases with Xi this week.

“You, as an American president, have the opportunity to get them released,” Tim Hunt, the brother of Dawn Michelle Hunt, told MS NOW in referring to the president on Wednesday. “When you look Xi Jinping in the eye, just say: ‘You got my people. You have my Americans. Here’s the list of names. Bring them home.’ It’s just that simple.”

Dawn Michelle Hunt, an artist and former flight attendant, was convicted on drug-related charges after Chinese authorities accused her of trafficking narcotics into the country. Her family said she was unknowingly drawn into a trafficking operation after she was lured by what appeared to be a legitimate all-expenses-paid trip to Hong Kong. After she spent more than two weeks traveling, organizers gave her designer purses and luggage before she was to fly to Australia as part of the trip, her family said. Chinese authorities said they found drugs hidden inside the purse linings during an airport security search, her family said. 

At Dawn Michelle Hunt’s trial, the judge acknowledged the American was deceived but said she should have known better, according to her family. She was initially sentenced to death, but her sentence was later changed to life in prison, her family said. She is being held at Guangdong Women’s Prison in southern China.

Wells, a veteran and father of three who worked for a tech company in Japan, was convicted on similar drug smuggling charges after authorities alleged that he tried to transport narcotics into China. Speaking to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China in 2024, Wells’ father, Nelson Wells Sr., said his son was also the victim of a scam and had no intention of participating in criminal activity. According to his father, Wells traveled to the country for a medical procedure and unknowingly carried bags containing hidden drugs for an acquaintance.

Wells was arrested in China and initially sentenced to life in prison before his sentence was reduced to 22 years in 2019, his family said. He is being held at Chongqing Yudu Prison in southwestern China.

The families have said both their relatives suffer from serious medical issues and have not received adequate treatment while in custody.

“Her health and mental state are both deteriorating,” Tim Hunt said of his sister. He added that he last saw her in 2024 and that she looked thin, saying, “She does not even look the same.”

He said the family speaks to his sister by phone once every few months.

Wells’ father said his son suffers from recurring seizures stemming from a previous accident. He said he, his wife, Cynthia, and Wells’ wife and children are able to talk by phone with Wells about once a month. Wells Sr. told Newsmax that he and Wells’ mother last heard from their son on Mother’s Day.

China’s Foreign Ministry has argued that the Americans were convicted of serious drug crimes and that their cases are being handled under Chinese law while their health and legal rights are protected, according to Reuters.

State Department spokeswoman Lisa K. Heller told The New York Times that consular officers regularly visit Dawn Michelle Hunt, most recently in July. Last May, the department formally asked China to grant the two Americans humanitarian release due to health concerns.

Lawmakers have also pushed for the Americans’ freedom, introducing the Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt Unjustly Detained in Communist China Act in September. Leaders of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China sent a letter to Trump on May 7 urging him to press for Dawn Michelle Hunt and Wells’ release.

Wells’ father said he believes that before Trump became president, “he would be doing the same thing that we’re doing, fighting to get his loved one home. So now that he is in his position [as president], I hope that he doesn’t forget his fatherhood.”

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