1. United States
2. Tenn.
3. Letter

As of February 2026, the U.S. sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) have entered a period of intense escalation, moving from general threats to specific, personal financial penalties against the court's leadership. Current Status of Sanctions The Trump administration is using Executive Order 14203, signed in February 2025, to target individuals who participate in investigations involving the U.S. or its allies (specifically Israel). • Number of Targeted Officials: As of early 2026, at least eight ICC judges and several prosecutors have been personally sanctioned. • Latest Additions: In December 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio added Judge Gocha Lordkipanidze (Georgia) and Judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin (Mongolia) to the list for their roles in rejecting legal challenges to the Israel investigation. • Nature of the Penalties: The sanctions go beyond simple travel bans. They include freezing assets and blocking the use of major financial services like Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal. • Day-to-Day Impact: Canadian Judge Kimberly Prost recently shared that she must now call hotels in advance because she can no longer pay for rooms with a credit card due to the U.S. financial block. The Administration's Goal The administration is openly pressuring the ICC to drop its investigation into U.S. military actions in Afghanistan and the current war in Gaza. An unnamed U.S. official recently stated that the goal is to amend the ICC’s founding documents to ensure the court has no jurisdiction to prosecute President Trump or his top aides in the future. International Response The move has been widely condemned by human rights groups and many of the 125 member states of the Rome Statute. United Nations experts have called the sanctions an "unacceptable assault" on judicial independence and a threat to the global rule of law. Please pressure the Executive Branch to remove these sanctions. No one is above the law. If the ICC chooses to investigate Trump and his administration, they should be allowed to proceed without interference by the US Executive Branch.