I 
★
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3654 
To address transnational repression by foreign governments against private 
individuals, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 24, 2023 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Intelligence 
(Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To address transnational repression by foreign governments 
against private individuals, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Transnational Repression Policy Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Statement of policy. 
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Sec. 4. Amendments to annual country reports on human rights practices. 
Sec. 5. Interagency strategy to address transnational repression in United 
States and abroad. 
Sec. 6. Training. 
Sec. 7. Intelligence gathering. 
Sec. 8. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice initia-
tives to combat transnational repression in the United States. 
Sec. 9. Imposition of sanctions relating to transnational repression. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Transnational repression against individuals 
who live outside their countries of origin, prominent 
or vocal anti-regime figures, and persons who pro-
vide aid and support to dissidents— 
(A) is a human rights violation that seeks 
to stifle dissent and enhance control over exile, 
activist, emigrant, and diaspora communities; 
and 
(B) can take the form of— 
(i) extrajudicial killings; 
(ii) physical assaults and intimidation; 
(iii) unlawful detentions; 
(iv) unlawful renditions; 
(v) unlawful deportations; 
(vi) unexplained or enforced dis-
appearances; 
(vii) physical or online surveillance or 
stalking; 
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(viii) unwarranted passport cancella-
tion or control over other identification 
documents; 
(ix) INTERPOL abuse; 
(x) intimidation by diplomatic per-
sonnel, government officials, or proxies; 
(xi) unlawful asset freezes; 
(xii) 
digital 
threats, 
such 
as 
cyberattacks, targeted surveillance and 
spyware, online harassment, and intimida-
tion; 
(xiii) coercion by proxy, such as har-
assment of, or threats or harm to, family 
and associates of such private individuals 
who remain in the country of origin; and 
(xiv) slander and libel to discredit in-
dividuals. 
(2) Governments perpetrating transnational re-
pression often pressure host countries, especially— 
(A) through threats to condition foreign 
assistance or other pressure campaigns on law-
makers in host countries, such as threats— 
(i) to withdraw foreign students from 
their universities; and 
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(ii) to induce them to enact policies 
that repress emigrant and diaspora com-
munities; and 
(B) by offering financial and material as-
sistance to host countries to harass and intimi-
date emigrant and diaspora communities. 
(3) Transnational repression is a threat to indi-
viduals, democratic institutions, the exercise of 
rights and freedoms, and national security and sov-
ereignty. 
(4) Authoritarian governments increasingly rely 
on transnational repression as their consolidation of 
control at home pushes dissidents abroad. 
(5) The spread of digital technologies provides 
new tools for censoring, surveilling, and targeting in-
dividuals deemed to be threats across international 
borders, especially dissidents pushed abroad who 
themselves rely on communications technology to 
amplify their messages, which can often lead to 
physical attacks and coercion by proxy. 
(6) Many acts of transnational repression are 
undertaken through cooperation of, or cooperation 
with, authorities in the host country, most notably 
by taking advantage of other states’ concerns about 
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terrorism to accuse the targeted individual of ter-
rorism or extremism. 
(7) Authoritarian actors routinely attempt to 
deter and silence the voices of dissident and exile 
communities at international fora, as documented by 
the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for 
Human Rights in the Secretary-General’s annual re-
port on reprisals to the United Nations Human 
Rights Council. 
(8) The principle of non-refoulement, which is 
explicitly included in the Convention against Torture 
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment 
or Punishment, done at New York December 10, 
1984— 
(A) forms an essential protection under 
international law; and 
(B) prohibits countries from expelling or 
returning an individual to another country 
where the individual’s life or freedom would be 
threatened on account of the individual’s race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular 
social group, or political opinion, or due to sub-
stantial grounds for believing that the indi-
vidual would be at risk of torture. 
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SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States— 
(1) to protect persons in the United States and 
United States persons outside of the United States 
from undue foreign harassment, intimidation, coer-
cion, and surveillance in accordance with section 6 
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2756); 
(2) to pursue criminal prosecutions, as appro-
priate, and carry out other steps, such as facilitating 
mutual legal assistance and other forms of inter-
national cooperation with like-minded partners, in 
accordance with United States law, to hold foreign 
governments and individuals accountable when they 
stalk, publish false narratives online with the intent 
to unlawfully intimidate, harass, coerce, or assault 
people in the United States or United States persons 
outside of the United States or collect information 
while acting as a foreign agent in the United States 
without notifying United States authorities; and 
(3) to prohibit the arrest or seizure of assets of 
any individual based solely on an INTERPOL Red 
Notice or Diffusion issued by another INTERPOL 
member country for such individual because such no-
tices do not meet the requirements of the Fourth 
Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States. 
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SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON 
HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES. 
Section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
(22 U.S.C. 2151n) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(h) USE OF TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The 
country reports required under subsection (d) shall, as ap-
plicable— 
‘‘(1) describe incidents in which a government 
has harassed, intimidated, or killed individuals out-
side of their internationally-recognized borders and 
document patterns of such repression among repeat 
offenders; 
‘‘(2) identify the countries in which such repres-
sion occurs and the roles of the host government in 
enabling, preventing, mitigating, and responding to 
such acts; 
‘‘(3) describe the tactics used by the countries 
identified pursuant to paragraph (2), including the 
actions identified in section 2(1) and any new tech-
niques observed; and 
‘‘(4) in the case of digital surveillance and har-
assment, specify the type of technology or platform, 
including social media, smart city technology, health 
tracking systems, general surveillance technology, 
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and data access, transfer, and storage procedures, 
used by the countries for such actions.’’. 
SEC. 
5. 
INTERAGENCY 
STRATEGY 
TO 
ADDRESS 
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION IN UNITED 
STATES AND ABROAD. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 
in coordination with the heads of other appropriate Fed-
eral departments and agencies shall submit a report to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa-
tives that contains a United States strategy to promote 
initiatives that will— 
(1) 
enhance 
international 
awareness 
of 
transnational repression; 
(2) address transnational repression, including 
through raising the costs of such activities for perpe-
trating governments and protecting targeted individ-
uals and groups; 
(3) conduct regular outreach (whether through 
government agencies or civil society organizations) 
with diaspora communities and other people who 
have been targeted by foreign governments regard-
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ing the transnational threats they face within the 
United States and around the world and the re-
sources available to them without putting them at 
further risk; and 
(4) develop policy and programmatic-related re-
sponses based on input from the communities and 
people referred to in paragraph (3) and regularly 
seek and consider credible information obtained by 
nongovernmental organizations working on issues of 
transnational repression. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.— 
(1) DIPLOMACY.—The strategy required under 
subsection (a) shall include— 
(A) a plan developed in consultation with 
like-minded partner governments, civil society, 
the business community, and other entities for 
advancing and promoting— 
(i) the rule of law and human rights 
globally with respect to the use of surveil-
lance technology and export licensing pol-
icy regarding such technology; and 
(ii) safeguards to prevent the access, 
use, and storage of personal digital data by 
governments and technology companies for 
the purposes of transnational repression; 
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(B) public affairs, public diplomacy, and 
counter-messaging efforts, including through 
the use of the voice, vote, and influence of the 
United States at international bodies— 
(i) to promote awareness; 
(ii) to develop a common under-
standing; and 
(iii) to draw critical attention to and 
oppose acts of transnational repression; 
(C) a plan for establishing or strength-
ening regional and international coalitions— 
(i) to monitor cases of transnational 
repression, including reprisals when human 
rights defenders and other activists face 
reprisals for engaging at multilateral orga-
nizations, such as the United Nations; and 
(ii) to create or strengthen emergency 
alert mechanisms for key stakeholders 
within the international community that 
can engage in public or private diplomacy 
to 
address 
emergency 
cases 
of 
transnational repression, including cases 
involving individuals and their family mem-
bers who are at serious risk of rendition, 
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