II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 831 

To address transnational repression by foreign governments against private 

individuals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2023 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. HAGERTY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To address transnational repression by foreign governments 

against private individuals, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Transnational Repression Policy Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 4. Amendments to annual country reports on human rights practices. 

Sec. 5. Interagency strategy to address transnational repression in United 

States and abroad. 


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Sec. 6. Training. 

Sec. 7. Intelligence gathering. 

Sec. 8. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice initiatives to combat transnational repression in the United States. 

Sec. 9. Imposition of sanctions relating to transnational repression. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Transnational repression against individuals 

4 who live outside their countries of origin, prominent 

5 or vocal anti-regime figures, and persons who pro6 vide aid and support to dissidents— 

7 (A) is a human rights violation that seeks 

8 to stifle dissent and enhance control over exile, 

9 activist, emigrant, and diaspora communities; 

10 and 

11 (B) can take the form of— 

12 (i) extrajudicial killings; 

13 (ii) physical assaults and intimidation; 

14 (iii) unlawful detentions; 

15 (iv) unlawful renditions; 

16 (v) unlawful deportations; 

17 (vi) unexplained or enforced dis18 appearances; 

19 (vii) physical or online surveillance or 

20 stalking; 

21 (viii) unwarranted passport cancella22 tion or control over other identification 

23 documents; 


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1 (ix) INTERPOL abuse; 

2 (x) intimidation by diplomatic per3 sonnel, government officials, or proxies; 

4 (xi) unlawful asset freezes; 

5 (xii) digital threats, such as 

6 cyberattacks, targeted surveillance and 

7 spyware, online harassment, and intimida8 tion; 

9 (xiii) coercion by proxy, such as har10 assment of, or threats or harm to, family 

11 and associates of such private individuals 

12 who remain in the country of origin; and 

13 (xiv) slander and libel to discredit in14 dividuals. 

15 (2) Governments perpetrating transnational re16 pression often pressure host countries, especially— 

17 (A) through threats to condition foreign 

18 assistance or other pressure campaigns on law19 makers in host countries, such as threats— 

20 (i) to withdraw foreign students from 

21 their universities; and 

22 (ii) to induce them to enact policies 

23 that repress emigrant and diaspora com24 munities; and 


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1 (B) by offering financial and material as2 sistance to host countries to harass and intimi3 date emigrant and diaspora communities. 

4 (3) Transnational repression is a threat to indi5 viduals, democratic institutions, the exercise of 

6 rights and freedoms, and national security and sov7 ereignty. 

8 (4) Authoritarian governments increasingly rely 

9 on transnational repression as their consolidation of 

10 control at home pushes dissidents abroad. 

11 (5) The spread of digital technologies provides 

12 new tools for censoring, surveilling, and targeting in13 dividuals deemed to be threats across international 

14 borders, especially dissidents pushed abroad who 

15 themselves rely on communications technology to 

16 amplify their messages, which can often lead to 

17 physical attacks and coercion by proxy. 

18 (6) Many acts of transnational repression are 

19 undertaken through cooperation of, or cooperation 

20 with, authorities in the host country, most notably 

21 by taking advantage of other States’ concerns about 

22 terrorism to accuse the targeted individual of ter23 rorism or extremism. 

24 (7) Authoritarian actors routinely attempt to 

25 deter and silence the voices of dissident and exile 


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1 communities at international fora, as documented by 

2 the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for 

3 Human Rights in the Secretary-General’s annual re4 port on reprisals to the United Nations Human 

5 Rights Council. 

6 (8) The principle of non-refoulement, which is 

7 explicitly included in the Convention against Torture 

8 and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment 

9 or Punishment, done at New York December 10, 

10 1984— 

11 (A) forms an essential protection under 

12 international law; and 

13 (B) prohibits countries from expelling or 

14 returning an individual to another country 

15 where the individual’s life or freedom would be 

16 threatened on account of the individual’s race, 

17 religion, nationality, membership in a particular 

18 social group, or political opinion, or due to sub19 stantial grounds for believing that the indi20 vidual would be at risk of torture. 

21 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

22 It is the policy of the United States— 

23 (1) to protect persons in the United States and 

24 United States persons outside of the United States 

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1 cion, and surveillance in accordance with section 6 

2 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2756); 

3 (2) to pursue criminal prosecutions, as appro4 priate, and carry out other steps, such as facilitating 

5 mutual legal assistance and other forms of inter6 national cooperation with like-minded partners, in 

7 accordance with United States law, to hold foreign 

8 governments and individuals accountable when they 

9 stalk, publish false narratives online with the intent 

10 to unlawfully intimidate, harass, coerce, or assault 

11 people in the United States or United States persons 

12 outside of the United States or collect information 

13 while acting as a foreign agent in the United States 

14 without notifying United States authorities; and 

15 (3) to prohibit the arrest or seizure of assets of 

16 any individual based solely on an INTERPOL Red 

17 Notice or Diffusion issued by another INTERPOL 

18 member country for such individual because such no19 tices do not meet the requirements of the Fourth 

20 Amendment to the Constitution of the United 

21 States. 


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1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON 

2 HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES. 

3 Section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

4 (22 U.S.C. 2151n) is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(h) USE OF TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The 

7 country reports required under subsection (d) shall, as ap8 plicable— 

9 ‘‘(1) describe incidents in which a government 

10 has harassed, intimidated, or killed individuals out11 side of their internationally recognized borders and 

12 document patterns of such repression among repeat 

13 offenders; 

14 ‘‘(2) identify the countries in which such repres15 sion occurs and the roles of the host government in 

16 enabling, preventing, mitigating, and responding to 

17 such acts; 

18 ‘‘(3) describe the tactics used by the countries 

19 identified pursuant to paragraph (2), including the 

20 actions identified in section 2(1) and any new tech21 niques observed; and 

22 ‘‘(4) in the case of digital surveillance and har23 assment, specify the type of technology or platform, 

24 including social media, smart city technology, health 

25 tracking systems, general surveillance technology, 


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1 and data access, transfer, and storage procedures, 

2 used by the countries for such actions.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY STRATEGY TO ADDRESS 

4 TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION IN UNITED 

5 STATES AND ABROAD. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

8 in coordination with the heads of other appropriate Fed9 eral departments and agencies, shall submit a report to 

10 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the 

11 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee 

12 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and 

13 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep14 resentatives that contains a United States strategy to pro15 mote initiatives that will— 

16 (1) enhance international awareness of 

17 transnational repression; 

18 (2) address transnational repression, including 

19 through raising the costs of such activities for perpe20 trating governments and protecting targeted individ21 uals and groups; 

22 (3) conduct regular outreach (whether through 

23 government agencies or civil society organizations) 

24 with diaspora communities and other people who 

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1 ing the transnational threats they face within the 

2 United States and around the world and the re3 sources available to them without putting them at 

4 further risk; and 

5 (4) develop policy and programmatic-related re6 sponses based on input from the communities and 

7 people referred to in paragraph (3) and regularly 

8 seek and consider credible information obtained by 

9 nongovernmental organizations working on issues of 

10 transnational repression. 

11 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.— 

12 (1) DIPLOMACY.—The strategy required under 

13 subsection (a) shall include— 

14 (A) a plan developed in consultation with 

15 like-minded partner governments, civil society, 

16 the business community, and other entities for 

17 advancing and promoting— 

18 (i) the rule of law and human rights 

19 globally with respect to the use of surveil20 lance technology and export licensing pol21 icy regarding such technology; and 

22 (ii) safeguards to prevent the access, 

23 use, and storage of personal digital data by 

24 governments and technology companies for 

25 the purposes of transnational repression; 


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1 (B) public affairs, public diplomacy, and 

2 counter-messaging efforts, including through 

3 the use of the voice, vote, and influence of the 

4 United States at international bodies— 

5 (i) to promote awareness; 

6 (ii) to develop a common under7 standing; and 

8 (iii) to draw critical attention to and 

9 oppose acts of transnational repression; 

10 (C) a plan for establishing or strength11 ening regional and international coalitions— 

12 (i) to monitor cases of transnational 

13 repression, including reprisals when human 

14 rights defenders and other activists face 

15 reprisals for engaging at multilateral orga16 nizations, such as the United Nations; and 

17 (ii) to create or strengthen emergency 

18 alert mechanisms for key stakeholders 

19 within the international community that 

20 can engage in public or private diplomacy 

21 to address emergency cases of 

22 transnational repression, including cases 

23 involving individuals and their family mem24 bers who are at serious risk of rendition, 


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1 disappearance, unlawful deportation, 

2 refoulement, or other actions; 

3 (D) an analysis of the advantages and dis4 advantages of working with partners and allies 

5 to push for the establishment of a special 

6 rapporteur for transnational repression at the 

7 United Nations; and 

8 (E) a plan for engaging with diplomats 

9 and consular officials who abuse their positions 

10 by intimidating, threatening, attacking, or oth11 erwise undermining the human rights and fun12 damental freedoms of exiles and members of 

13 diasporas in the United States. 

14 (2) ASSISTANCE PROGRAMMING.—The strategy 

15 required under subsection (a) shall include— 

16 (A) ways in which the United States Gov17 ernment has previously and will continue to 

18 provide support to civil society organizations in 

19 the United States and in countries in which 

20 transnational repression occurs— 

21 (i) to improve the documentation, in22 vestigation, and research of cases, trends, 

23 and tactics of transnational repression, in24 cluding— 


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1 (I) any potential for misusing se2 curity tools to target individual dis3 sidents, activists, or journalists; and 

4 (II) ramifications of 

5 transnational repression in under6 mining United States policy or assist7 ance efforts to promote internationally 

8 recognized human rights and democ9 racy overseas; and 

10 (ii) to promote the transparency of 

11 the host country decision-making proc12 esses, including instances in which law en13 forcement actions against victims of 

14 transnational repression occurred because 

15 of INTERPOL red notices or extradition 

16 treaties; and 

17 (B) a description of new or existing emer18 gency assistance mechanisms, including the 

19 Fundamental Freedoms Fund and the Lifeline 

20 Embattled CSO Assistance Fund, to aid at-risk 

21 groups, communities, and individuals, and vic22 tims of transnational repression in the United 

23 States and in countries in which transnational 

24 repression occurs to address— 


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1 (i) physical security installation and 

2 support; 

3 (ii) operational support of organiza4 tions providing assistance to at-risk 

5 groups, communities, and individuals; 

6 (iii) psychosocial and psycho-emo7 tional support; 

8 (iv) medical assistance, subject to the 

9 limitations of the Foreign Assistance Act 

10 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.); 

11 (v) digital security installation and 

12 support; 

13 (vi) support and training beyond basic 

14 digital hygiene training, including emer15 gency response to cyberattacks and en16 hanced capacity to deter surveillance and 

17 monitoring by malicious actors; 

18 (vii) relocation support; 

19 (viii) legal advice and assistance; and 

20 (ix) trainings to build on their existing 

21 capacities so they can continue their activ22 ism. 

23 (3) LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE UNITED

24 STATES.—The strategy required under subsection 

25 (a) shall include— 


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1 (A) the consideration of updates to United 

2 States law to directly address certain tactics of 

3 transnational repression, including— 

4 (i) the criminalization of the gathering 

5 of information about private individuals in 

6 diaspora and exile communities on behalf 

7 of a foreign power that is intending to har8 ass, intimidate, or harm an individual in 

9 order to prevent their exercise of inter10 nationally recognized human rights; and 

11 (ii) the expansion of the definition of 

12 foreign agents under the Foreign Registra13 tions Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) 

14 and section 951 of title 18, United States 

15 Code; 

16 (B) ways in which the Federal Bureau of 

17 Investigation coordinates with the Department 

18 of State, the Department of Homeland Secu19 rity, United States intelligence agencies, and 

20 domestic law enforcement agencies in partner 

21 countries in responding to transnational repres22 sion; 

23 (C) full consideration of unintended nega24 tive impacts of such expanded legal authorities 

25 on the civil liberties of communities targeted by 


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1 transnational repression, taking into account 

2 the views of such affected communities; 

3 (D) the development of specific outreach 

4 strategies to connect law enforcement, other 

5 agencies, and local municipal officials with tar6 geted diaspora communities to ensure that indi7 viduals who are vulnerable to transnational re8 pression are aware of the Federal and local re9 sources available to them without putting them 

10 at further risk; and 

11 (E) examining and reviewing the steps 

12 taken to address the legality of foreign govern13 ments establishing overseas police stations to 

14 monitor members of the diaspora. 

15 (c) ADDITIONAL MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—In 

16 addition to the matters set forth in subsection (b), the re17 port required under subsection (a) shall include— 

18 (1) to the extent practicable, a list of— 

19 (A) the governments that perpetrate 

20 transnational repression most often and the 

21 host countries that such governments are tar22 geting most often; 

23 (B) the host governments that cooperate 

24 most often with the governments on 


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1 transnational repression actions referred to in 

2 subparagraph (A); 

3 (C) any individuals, whether United States 

4 citizens or foreign nationals, who are complicit 

5 in transnational repression as agents of a for6 eign government referred to in subparagraph 

7 (A) who are operating in the United States; 

8 (D) refugees, asylum seekers, and popu9 lations that are most vulnerable to 

10 transnational repression in the United States 

11 and, to the extent possible, in foreign countries; 

12 (E) entities that are exporting dual-use 

13 spyware technology to any of the governments 

14 referred to in subparagraph (A); 

15 (F) entities that are buying and selling 

16 personally identifiable information that can be 

17 used to track and surveil potential victims; and 

18 (G) entities that are exporting items on the 

19 Commerce Control List (as set forth in Supple20 ment No. 1 to part 774 of the Export Adminis21 tration Regulations under subchapter C of 

22 chapter VII of title 15, Code of Federal Regula23 tions) to any governments referred to in sub24 paragraph (a) that can be misused for human 

25 rights abuses; 


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1 (2) an assessment of how data that is pur2 chased by governments most often perpetrating 

3 transnational repression is utilized; and 

4 (3) a description of any actions taken by the 

5 United States Government to address transnational 

6 repression under existing law, including— 

7 (A) section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigra8 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

9 1182(a)(3)(C)); 

10 (B) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky 

11 Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 

12 2656 note); 

13 (C) the interim final rule issued by the Bu14 reau of Industry and Security of the Depart15 ment of Commerce relating to ‘‘Information Se16 curity Controls: Cybersecurity Items’’ (86 Fed. 

17 Reg. 58205; October 21, 2021; 87 Fed. Reg. 

18 1670, effective March 7, 2022); 

19 (D) section 7031(c) of the Department of 

20 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Pro21 grams Appropriations Act, 2020 (division G of 

22 Public Law 116–94; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note); 

23 (E) prosecutions and the statutory author24 ity authorizing such prosecutions; 


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1 (F) establishing specific bureaucratic 

2 structures focused on transnational repression; 

3 (G) which agencies are conducting out4 reach to victims of transnational repression and 

5 the form of such outreach; 

6 (H) the challenges of intelligence agencies 

7 in identifying transnational repression threats 

8 and perpetrators; and 

9 (I) United States technology companies 

10 that knowingly or unknowingly employ, or pro11 vide access to information to, foreign intel12 ligence officers. 

13 (d) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

14 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 

15 a classified annex, if necessary. 

16 (e) UPDATES.—The Secretary of State shall provide 

17 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 

18 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep19 resentatives with annual updates of the strategy required 

20 under subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 6. TRAINING. 

22 (a) DEPARTMENT OF STATE PERSONNEL.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide United 

24 States diplomats and personnel stationed around the 

25 world with the level of understanding to recognize 


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1 and combat transnational repression, the Secretary 

2 of State, in consultation with civil society and the 

3 business community, shall provide training to such 

4 members of the Foreign Service, including chiefs of 

5 mission, regarding transnational repression, includ6 ing training on— 

7 (A) how to identify different tactics of 

8 transnational repression in physical and non9 physical forms; 

10 (B) which governments are known to em11 ploy transnational repression most frequently; 

12 (C) which governments are most likely to 

13 cooperate with governments on transnational 

14 repression-related actions referred to in sub15 paragraph (B); and 

16 (D) tools of digital surveillance and other 

17 cyber tools used to carry out transnational re18 pression activities. 

19 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 

21 for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2027, to 

22 develop and implement the curriculum described in 

23 paragraph (1). 

24 (b) UNITED STATES OFFICIALS RESPONSIBLE FOR

25 DOMESTIC THREATS OF TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to achieve an ade2 quate level of understanding to recognize and com3 bat transnational repression, the Attorney General, 

4 in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Se5 curity, the Director of National Intelligence, civil so6 ciety, and the business community, shall provide the 

7 training recipients referred to in paragraph (2) with 

8 training regarding transnational repression, includ9 ing training on— 

10 (A) how to identify different tactics of 

11 transnational repression in physical and non12 physical forms; 

13 (B) which governments are known to em14 ploy transnational repression most frequently; 

15 (C) which communities and locations in the 

16 United States are most vulnerable to 

17 transnational repression; 

18 (D) tools of digital surveillance and other 

19 cyber tools used to carry out transnational re20 pression activities; 

21 (E) espionage and foreign agent laws; and 

22 (F) how foreign governments may try to 

23 coopt the immigration system. 

24 (2) TRAINING RECIPIENTS.—The training re25 cipients referred to in this paragraph include, to the 


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1 extent deemed appropriate and necessary by their 

2 respective agency heads in the case of any Federal 

3 employee— 

4 (A) employees of— 

5 (i) the Department of Homeland Se6 curity, including U.S. Customs and Border 

7 Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigra8 tion Services, and U.S. Immigration and 

9 Customs Enforcement; 

10 (ii) the Department of Justice, includ11 ing the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 

12 and 

13 (iii) the Office of Refugee Resettle14 ment of the Department of Health and 

15 Human Services; 

16 (B) other Federal, State, and local law en17 forcement and municipal officials receiving in18 struction at the Federal Law Enforcement 

19 Training Center; and 

20 (C) appropriate private sector and commu21 nity partners of the Federal Bureau of Inves22 tigation. 

23 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 

25 for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2027, to 


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1 develop and provide the curriculum and training de2 scribed in paragraph (1). 

3 SEC. 7. INTELLIGENCE GATHERING. 

4 The intelligence community (as defined in section 3 

5 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003) 

6 shall devote significant resources— 

7 (1) to prioritize, to the extent feasible, the iden8 tification of individuals, networks, and tools that are 

9 used for perpetrating transnational repression 

10 against communities in the United States on behalf 

11 of foreign governments; 

12 (2) to share relevant and appropriate informa13 tion with like-minded partners; and 

14 (3) to effectively coordinate such efforts with 

15 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Depart16 ment of Homeland Security, the Office of the Direc17 tor of National Intelligence, and the Department of 

18 State. 

19 SEC. 8. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND DE20 PARTMENT OF JUSTICE INITIATIVES TO COM21 BAT TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION IN THE 

22 UNITED STATES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu24 rity and the Attorney General, in consultation with the 

25 Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall— 


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1 (1) dedicate resources to ensure that a tip line 

2 for victims and witnesses of transnational repres3 sion— 

4 (A) is staffed by people who are— 

5 (i) equipped with cultural and lin6 guistic ability to communicate effectively 

7 with diaspora and exile communities; and 

8 (ii) knowledgeable of the tactics of 

9 transnational repression; 

10 (B) is encrypted and, to the maximum ex11 tent practicable, protects the confidentiality of 

12 the identifying information of individuals who 

13 may call the tip line; 

14 (2) not later than 270 days after the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act— 

16 (A) identify existing Federal resources to 

17 assist and protect individuals and communities 

18 targeted by transnational repression in the 

19 United States; and 

20 (B) in cooperation with the Secretary of 

21 Health and Human Services and the heads of 

22 other Federal agencies, publish such resources 

23 in a toolkit or guide; 

24 (3) continue to conduct proactive outreach so 

25 that individuals in targeted communities— 


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1 (A) are aware of the tip line described in 

2 paragraph (1); and 

3 (B) are informed about the types of inci4 dents that should be reported to the Federal 

5 Bureau of Investigation; 

6 (4) support data collection and analysis under7 taken by Federal research and development centers 

8 regarding the needs of targeted communities in the 

9 United States, with the goal of identifying priority 

10 needs and developing solutions and assistance mech11 anisms, while recognizing that such mechanisms may 

12 differ depending on geographic location of targeted 

13 communities, language, and other factors; 

14 (5) continue to issue advisories to, and engage 

15 regularly with, communities that are at particular 

16 risk of transnational repression, including specific 

17 diaspora communities— 

18 (A) to explain what transnational repres19 sion is and clarify the threshold at which inci20 dents of transnational repression constitute a 

21 crime; and 

22 (B) to identify the resources available to 

23 individuals in targeted communities to facilitate 

24 their reporting of, and to protect them from, 


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1 transnational repression, without placing such 

2 individuals at additional risk; and 

3 (6) conduct annual trainings with caseworker 

4 staff in congressional offices regarding the tactics of 

5 transnational repression and the resources available 

6 to their constituents. 

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

8 authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of the 

9 fiscal years 2024 through 2027, for the research, develop10 ment, outreach, and training activities described in sub11 section (a). 

12 SEC. 9. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS RELATING TO 

13 TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED; ALIEN; LAWFULLY

16 ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE.—The 

17 terms ‘‘admission’’, ‘‘admitted’’, ‘‘alien’’, and ‘‘law18 fully admitted for permanent residence’’ have the 

19 meanings given such terms in section 101 of the Im20 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

21 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com23 mittees’’ means— 

24 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

25 the Senate; 


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1 (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

2 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

3 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

4 the House of Representatives; and 

5 (D) the Committee on Financial Services 

6 of the House of Representatives. 

7 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per8 son’’ means an individual or entity that is not a 

9 United States person. 

10 (4) TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The term 

11 ‘‘transnational repression’’ means actions of a for12 eign government, or agents of a foreign government, 

13 involving the transgression of national borders 

14 through physical, digital, or analog means to intimi15 date, silence, coerce, harass, or harm members of di16 aspora and exile communities in order to prevent 

17 their exercise of internationally recognized human 

18 rights. 

19 (5) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

20 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

21 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law22 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

23 United States; 

24 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

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1 tion within the United States, including a for2 eign branch of such an entity; and 

3 (C) any person who is physically present in 

4 the United States. 

5 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not 

8 less frequently than annually thereafter, the Sec9 retary of State shall submit a report to the appro10 priate congressional committees that, except as pro11 vided in paragraph (2), identifies each foreign per12 son that the President determines has, on or after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, whether know14 ingly or unknowingly, directly engaged in 

15 transnational repression. 

16 (2) EXCEPTION.—The report required under 

17 paragraph (1) shall not identify individuals if such 

18 identification would interfere with law enforcement 

19 efforts. 

20 (3) EXPLANATION.—If a foreign person identi21 fied in the report required under paragraph (1) is 

22 not subject to sanctions under section (c), the report 

23 shall explain, to the extent practicable, the reasons 

24 such sanctions were not imposed on such person. 


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•S 831 IS

1 (4) FORM.—The report required under para2 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 

3 but may include a classified annex. 

4 (c) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—Except as provided 

5 in subsection (b)(3), the President shall impose 1 or more 

6 of the sanctions described in subsection (d) with respect 

7 to each foreign person identified in the report required 

8 under subsection (b)(1). 

9 (d) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de10 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

11 (1) PROPERTY BLOCKING.—The President shall 

12 exercise all of the powers granted to the President 

13 under section 203 through 207 of the International 

14 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 

15 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit 

16 all transactions in property and interests in property 

17 of a foreign person identified in the report required 

18 under subsection (b)(1) if such property and inter19 ests in property are in the United States, come with20 in the United States, or are or come within the pos21 session or control of a United States person. 

22 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR

23 PAROLE.— 

24 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—An 

25 alien described in subsection (b)(1) is— 


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•S 831 IS

1 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

2 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

3 documentation to enter the United States; 

4 and 

5 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

6 or paroled into the United States or to re7 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra8 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

9 seq.). 

10 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—An alien described 

12 in subsection (b)(1) is subject to revocation 

13 of any visa or other entry documentation 

14 of the alien, regardless of when the visa or 

15 other entry documentation is or was 

16 issued. 

17 (ii) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revoca18 tion under clause (i) shall, in accordance 

19 with section 221(i) of the Immigration and 

20 Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1201(i)— 

21 (I) take effect immediately; and 

22 (II) automatically cancel any 

23 other valid visa or entry documenta24 tion that is in the alien’s possession. 

25 (e) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 


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•S 831 IS

1 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex2 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 

3 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 

4 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out 

5 this section. 

6 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at7 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

8 violation of this section or any regulation, license, or 

9 order issued to carry out this section shall be subject 

10 to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) 

11 of section 206 of the International Emergency Eco12 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same ex13 tent as a person that commits an unlawful act de14 scribed in subsection (a) of such section. 

15 (f) SANCTIONS.—The President is authorized to im16 pose sanctions as provided under the Global Magnitsky 

17 Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et 

18 seq.) against any foreign person who the President, based 

19 on credible evidence, determines is responsible for the ren20 dition of journalists, activists, or other individuals to a 

21 country in which the person would be at risk of irreparable 

22 harm upon return, including extrajudicial killings, torture, 

23 or other gross violations of internationally recognized 

24 human rights. 

25 (g) WAIVER.— 


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•S 831 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 

2 the application of sanctions authorized under this 

3 section with respect to a foreign person if the Presi4 dent determines and certifies to the appropriate con5 gressional committees that such a waiver is in the 

6 national interests of the United States. 

7 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The President shall pro8 vide an annual report to Congress that— 

9 (A) lists every waiver granted under para10 graph (1); and 

11 (B) provides a justification for each such 

12 waiver. 

13 (h) EXCEPTIONS.— 

14 (1) EXCEPTION FOR INTELLIGENCE ACTIVI15 TIES.—Sanctions under this section shall not apply 

16 to any activity subject to the reporting requirements 

17 under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 

18 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized intel19 ligence activities of the United States. 

20 (2) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER21 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS AND FOR LAW ENFORCE22 MENT ACTIVITIES.—Sanctions under subsection 

23 (d)(2) shall not apply with respect to an alien if ad24 mitting or paroling the alien into the United States 

25 is necessary— 


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•S 831 IS

1 (A) to permit the United States to comply 

2 with the Agreement regarding the Head3 quarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 

4 Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 

5 November 21, 1947, between the United Na6 tions and the United States, or other applicable 

7 international obligations; or 

8 (B) to carry out or assist law enforcement 

9 activity in the United States. 

10 (3) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF

11 GOODS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The requirement to im13 pose sanctions under this section shall not in14 clude the authority or a requirement to impose 

15 sanctions on the importation of goods. 

16 (B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 

17 the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 

18 manmade substance, material, supply, or manu19 factured product, including inspection and test 

20 equipment, and excluding technical data. 

21 (i) SUNSET.—This section, and any sanctions im22 posed under this section, shall terminate on the date that 

23 is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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