I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7443 
To authorize a dedicated transnational repression office within the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations to ana-
lyze and monitor transnational repression and related terrorism threats 
and require Homeland Security Investigations to take actions to prevent 
transnational repression. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 23, 2024 
Mr. PFLUGER (for himself and Mr. MAGAZINER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize a dedicated transnational repression office with-
in the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland 
Security 
Investigations 
to 
analyze 
and 
monitor 
transnational repression and related terrorism threats 
and require Homeland Security Investigations to take 
actions to prevent transnational repression. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Combating 
Transnational Repression Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION. 
(a) FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING 
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.— 
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following 
findings: 
(A) The Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS), 
Homeland 
Security 
Investigations 
(HSI) National Security Division (NSD), Spe-
cial Interest Investigations Unit (SIIU), col-
laborates with Federal, State, and local part-
ners to investigate allegations of transnational 
repression. 
(B) HSI, through its investigative authori-
ties, works to deter, dismantle, and mitigate 
criminal enterprises and hostile foreign govern-
ment actors engaged in transnational repres-
sion. 
(C) In October 2023, the Government Ac-
countability Office (GAO) published a report 
that found agency actions are needed to address 
harassment of dissidents and other tactics of 
transnational repression in the United States. 
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(D) According to GAO, several Federal 
agencies work to address transnational repres-
sion, including DHS’s Office of Intelligence and 
Analysis, which works to produce intelligence 
that support Federal, State, and local govern-
ment entities to develop protective and support 
measures 
in 
response 
to 
threats 
of 
transnational repression, as well as DHS’s Of-
fice of Partnership and Engagement (OPE), 
which meets with stakeholders and victims of 
transnational repression to understand the 
range of transnational repression activities in 
the United States. For example, DHS hosted a 
listening session in March 2022 with stake-
holders to learn about issues facing commu-
nities in the United States. DHS has also 
issued reporting for State and local law enforce-
ment agencies to raise awareness about acts of 
transnational repression. 
(E) DHS’s OPE also works to share avail-
able Federal resources to help disrupt threats 
of transnational repression against United 
States citizens, with Federal, State, local, Trib-
al, and international partners so they coordi-
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nate countering acts of transnational repression 
and preparing best practices. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that— 
(A) transnational repression and related 
terrorism threats by a foreign government or an 
agent of a foreign government to target individ-
uals in the United States and persons outside 
of the United States are real and growing; 
(B) agents acting on behalf of hostile for-
eign 
governments 
employ 
a 
range 
of 
transnational repression tactics, including mak-
ing threats, intimidation, harassment, surveil-
lance, stalking, silencing, and planning physical 
harm or the kidnapping of individuals in the 
United States; and 
(C) the Department of Homeland Security 
must take steps to recognize, assess, and help 
address this threat, thereby reducing risks to 
the people of the United States. 
(b) OFFICE TO COMBAT TRANSNATIONAL REPRES-
SION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle H of title VIII of 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 
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et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 890E. TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION. 
‘‘(a) OFFICE TO ANALYZE, MONITOR, AND INVES-
TIGATE TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established an of-
fice, to be known as the ‘Transnational Repression 
Office’ (in this section referred to as the ‘Office’), in 
the National Security Division of Homeland Security 
Investigations, which shall be responsible for ana-
lyzing and monitoring transnational repression and 
related terrorism threats. 
‘‘(2) DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE.— 
‘‘(A) APPOINTMENT
OF
DIRECTOR.—The 
head of the Office shall be the Director of the 
Transnational Repression Office, who shall be 
appointed by the Director of Homeland Secu-
rity Investigations. 
‘‘(B) REPORTING.—The Director of the 
Transnational Repression Office shall report to 
the Secretary and the Director of Homeland 
Security Investigations regarding all adminis-
trative, operational, and security matters of the 
Office. 
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‘‘(3) STAFFING.—The Director of Homeland 
Security Investigations shall ensure the Office— 
‘‘(A) has a sufficient number of employees 
to perform required duties; and 
‘‘(B) has at least one employee dedicated 
to ensuring compliance with privacy laws and 
regulations. 
‘‘(4) DETAILEES
AUTHORIZED.—The Office 
may accept and employ detailees with expertise in 
countering transnational repression and related ter-
rorism threats or related fields from any element of 
the intelligence community, or any other Federal 
agency the Director of the Transnational Repression 
Office determines appropriate, with or without reim-
bursement, consistent with applicable laws and regu-
lations regarding such employees. 
‘‘(5) INFORMATION SHARING.—The Office shall 
review information relating to transnational repres-
sion and related terrorism threats that is gathered 
by Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial part-
ners, and the National Network of Fusion Centers, 
and incorporate such information, as appropriate, 
into the Office’s own information relating to 
transnational repression and related terrorism 
threats. The Office shall ensure the dissemination to 
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Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners, 
and the National Network of Fusion Centers, of in-
formation related to transnational repression and re-
lated terrorism threats. 
‘‘(6) HOMELAND
SECURITY
ASSESSMENT
ON 
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.— 
‘‘(A) ANNUAL
ASSESSMENTS.—Not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this section and annually thereafter for ten 
years, the Director of Homeland Security Inves-
tigations, acting through the Director of the 
Transnational Repression Office, shall submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate a report that assesses inci-
dents of transnational repression and related 
terrorism threats during the immediately pre-
ceding 12 months. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each assessment sub-
mitted under subparagraph (A) shall also in-
clude the following: 
‘‘(i) An analysis attempted incidents 
of transnational repression and related ter-
rorism threats. 
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‘‘(ii) 
A 
quantitative 
analysis 
of 
transnational repression and related ter-
rorism threats, including the number of in-
dividuals responsible for or associated with 
such transnational repression or related 
terrorism threats, and an identification of 
the country of citizenship or nationality of 
each such individual, and the roles of the 
foreign governments of such countries in 
enabling, preventing, mitigating, and re-
sponding to transnational repression and 
related terrorism threats. 
‘‘(iii) Subject to appropriate protec-
tions for sensitive information regarding 
law enforcement investigations and oper-
ations, a description of efforts by the De-
partment to disrupt through investigation 
transnational repression and related ter-
rorism threats. 
‘‘(iv) Any other matters the Director 
of Homeland Security Investigations deter-
mines relevant. 
‘‘(C) FORM.—Each assessment under sub-
paragraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassi-
fied form, but may include a classified annex 
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only for the protection of intelligence sources 
and methods relating to the matters contained 
in each such assessment. The Director of 
Homeland Security Investigations shall post on 
a publicly available website of Homeland Secu-
rity Investigations the unclassified portion of 
each such assessment. 
‘‘(7) SUNSET.—The Office shall terminate on 
the date that is ten years after the date of the enact-
ment of this section. 
‘‘(b) RESEARCH.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, in 
coordination with the Under Secretary for Science and 
Technology of the Department, the Director of the 
Transnational Repression Office, and the Director of 
Homeland Security Investigations, shall, to the extent 
practicable, carry out research and development, including 
operational testing, of technologies and techniques for en-
hancing the Department’s security and situational aware-
ness support to Federal, State, local, Tribal, and terri-
torial officials relating to combating transnational repres-
sion and related terrorism threats, in accordance with ap-
plicable constitutional, privacy, civil rights, and civil lib-
erties protections. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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‘‘(1) AGENT
OF
A
FOREIGN
GOVERNMENT.— 
The term ‘agent of a foreign government’ means an 
individual or entity that operates subject to the di-
rection or control of— 
‘‘(A) a foreign government; or 
‘‘(B) an official or entity of such foreign 
government. 
‘‘(2) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘for-
eign government’ means the government of a foreign 
country. 
‘‘(3) FUSION CENTER.—The term ‘fusion cen-
ter’ has the meaning given such term in subsection 
(j) of section 210A of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (6 U.S.C. 124h). 
‘‘(4) INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY.—The term 
‘intelligence community’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 
1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 
‘‘(5) NATIONAL
NETWORK
OF
FUSION
CEN-
TERS.—The term ‘National Network of Fusion Cen-
ters’ means a decentralized arrangement of fusion 
centers intended to enhance individual State and 
urban area fusion centers’ ability to leverage the ca-
pabilities and expertise of all such fusion centers for 
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the purpose of enhancing analysis and homeland se-
curity information sharing nationally. 
‘‘(6) TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The term 
‘transnational repression’ means an action of a for-
eign government or an agent of a foreign govern-
ment that satisfies each of the following: 
‘‘(A) The action involves— 
‘‘(i) any effort intended to coerce, har-
ass, or digitally or physically threaten, in-
cluding by force or reasonable fear of 
death or serious bodily injury or imprison-
ment of a person or an immediate family 
member of a person, a person to take an 
action in the interest of such a foreign gov-
ernment; 
‘‘(ii) any effort intended to harass or 
coerce, including by force or fear, a person 
to forebear from exercising their First 
Amendment rights or any other right guar-
anteed to the person by the Constitution or 
laws of the United States, or to retaliate 
against a person for having exercised such 
a right; 
‘‘(iii) an extrajudicial killing; or 
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‘‘(iv) any act intended to further the 
efforts specified in clause (i), (ii), or (iii). 
‘‘(B) The action is engaged in for or in the 
interests of such a foreign government. 
‘‘(C) The action— 
‘‘(i) occurs, in whole or in part, in the 
United States; or 
‘‘(ii) is committed against a United 
States person. 
‘‘(7) UNITED
STATES
PERSON.—The term 
‘United States person’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 1637(d)(10) of the Carl Levin and 
Howard P. ‘Buck’ McKeon National Defense Au-
thorization Act for Fiscal year 2015 (50 U.S.C. 
1708(d)(10)).’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act 
of 2002 is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 890D the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 890E. Transnational repression.’’. 
Æ 
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