A spokesman for the State Department said officials have visited Hammar three times, spoken with him by phone and contacted prison officials to stop them from chaining him to the bed.
‘‘The safety and well-being of U.S. citizens is something we take very seriously,’’ said Peter Velasco.
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday, asking Mexican authorities to release Hammar.
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen also urged the State Department to work incessantly to reunite Hammar with his family and said she’s disappointed the agency has not told her what efforts have been made.
The Miami Republican said she plans to contact the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol about Hammar’s arrest. His mother emailed Ros-Lehtinen and asked for help.
‘‘The Hammar family has suffered a great deal since their son’s unjust incarceration in August and the details they have provided to my office are gripping and a clear abuse of Jon’s human rights,’’ she said in a statement.
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Associated Press Writer Christopher Sherman in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.
