Editing Raoul Wallenberg (section)

==== Honorary citizenship ====
One of Tom Lantos' first acts as a representative in Congress was to recognize Wallenberg as an [[Honorary citizenship of the United States|honorary American citizen]]. After being told by President Carter that the Soviet Union would not answer questions to America about a non-American citizen, Lantos worked with Senator Moynihan to pass a bill recognizing Wallenberg as such. The effort grew as ''[[60 Minutes]]'' aired a piece on Wallenberg while the resolution was moving through Congress. Newly elected [[Ronald Reagan|President Ronald Reagan]] watched the program and joined Lantos and Moynihan in pushing for the resolution to pass. It eventually passed by a 396–2 vote and was quickly signed into law by Reagan, making Wallenberg the second person in history ([[Winston Churchill]] being the first) to be made an honorary American citizen by an [[act of Congress]].<ref name=":0" />

With his citizenship now granted, the Wallenberg family successfully sued the Soviet Union in 1984 in an American Federal District Court over his disappearance for $39 million, or $1 million per year that Wallenberg's fate has been unknown.<ref>{{cite web |author1=UPI |title=DIPLOMAT'S FAMILY SUES SOVIET |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/03/us/diplomat-s-family-sues-soviet.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=8 November 2024 |date=3 February 1984 |quote=The family of Raoul Wallenberg ...filed a $39 million lawsuit against the Soviet Union today, demanding that the Russians tell what happened to him.}}</ref> However, the Soviet Union ignored the suit and did not pay any of the damages awarded by the judge. They also did not offer any information into his disappearance.<ref name=":0" />