The cases involve Dawn Michelle Hunt, a 54-year-old former flight attendant and artist from the Chicago area, and Nelson Wells Jr., a 52-year-old Louisiana native and father of three, whose families say were unknowingly used as “blind mules” to transport narcotics hidden in luggage provided by other individuals.

The appeal places the cases at the intersection of humanitarian diplomacy and increasingly strained U.S.-China relations, as Washington and Beijing remain divided over trade, Taiwan and Iran-related tensions. For Trump, who has frequently highlighted efforts to secure the return of detained Americans abroad, the release of the two prisoners could offer a rare diplomatic breakthrough during a summit expected to yield limited concrete agreements.

Family members said they are attempting to deliver letters directly to Trump ahead of the meeting. Tim Hunt, Dawn Michelle Hunt’s brother, described his sister as highly intelligent and said she had been lured to China through what he characterized as a fraudulent “prize” trip.

According to her family, she was later given purses and a suitcase containing concealed narcotics that she unknowingly agreed to carry on an outbound flight.Wells’ family said he was detained after agreeing to transport another traveler’s suitcase while returning from a trip to China.

The individual allegedly disappeared after airport authorities discovered drugs hidden inside the bag.“I enjoyed serving my country,” Nelson Wells Sr., a U.S. Army veteran, said in remarks released through the family. “Now I just want my country to serve me.”A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department⁠ said Washington is providing consular assistance to both Americans and advocating for their health and welfare, while declining to comment further because of privacy considerations.

China’s foreign ministry said the two Americans were serving sentences for serious drug offenses and that Chinese authorities were handling the cases in accordance with the law while protecting their legitimate rights and health conditions.Advocates involved in the cases said U.S. officials have formally requested humanitarian releases from Chinese authorities, citing worsening medical conditions.

According to family members and advisers, Hunt requires blood transfusions and has declined surgery because of concerns over prison medical care, while Wells suffers from seizures, diabetes and high blood pressure.Beijing-based lawyer James Zimmerman, who is advising the families, said Chinese officials had privately indicated a willingness to consider humanitarian parole if the matter received higher-level political attention from Washington.

The cases follow a prisoner exchange in 2024 in which China and the United States each released three citizens that both governments said had been wrongfully detained after years of diplomatic negotiations.Peter Humphrey, a former prisoner in China who now advises families of foreign detainees, said U.S. embassy officials had increased engagement with Chinese authorities regarding the cases in recent months.

John Kamm, whose San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation researches political prisoners in China, said both Americans should be granted humanitarian parole because of their medical conditions. The foundation estimates that around 200 Americans are currently held in detention facilities across China.

The families said public attention to the cases intensified after testimony delivered at a September 2024 hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, where lawmakers examined the treatment of Americans imprisoned in China.Relatives are also backing legislation introduced by Representative Chris Smith that would expand support mechanisms for families of Americans detained overseas under disputed circumstances.

Tim Hunt said his father died in January before seeing his daughter released, while Wells’ family said his youngest daughter, now 12 and living in Japan, was only six months old when he was arrested.