I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4330 
To counter efforts by foreign governments to pursue, harass, or otherwise 
persecute individuals for political and other unlawful motives overseas, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 
Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Ms. JACKSON 
LEE, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. COHEN, Ms. MOORE, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. 
VEASEY, Mr. MALINOWSKI, and Mr. HUDSON) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in ad-
dition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Homeland Security, 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To counter efforts by foreign governments to pursue, harass, 
or otherwise persecute individuals for political and other 
unlawful motives overseas, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transnational Repres-
sion Accountability and Prevention Act of 2019’’ or as the 
‘‘TRAP Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The International Criminal Police Organiza-
tion (INTERPOL) works to prevent and fight crime 
through enhanced cooperation and innovation on po-
lice and security matters, including counterter-
rorism, cybercrime, counternarcotics, and transna-
tional organized crime. 
(2) United States membership and participation 
in INTERPOL advances the national security and 
law enforcement interests of the United States re-
lated to combating terrorism, cybercrime, narcotics, 
and transnational organized crime. 
(3) Article 2 of INTERPOL’s Constitution 
states that the organization aims ‘‘[t]o ensure and 
promote the widest possible mutual assistance be-
tween all criminal police authorities . . . in the spir-
it of the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ ’’. 
(4) Article 3 of INTERPOL’s Constitution 
states that ‘‘[i]t is strictly forbidden for the Organi-
zation to undertake any intervention or activities of 
a political, military, religious or racial character’’. 
(5) Some INTERPOL member countries have 
used INTERPOL’s databases and processes, includ-
ing Notice and Diffusion mechanisms and the Stolen 
and Lost Travel Document Database, for activities 
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of a political or other unlawful character and in vio-
lation of international human rights standards, in-
cluding making requests to INTERPOL for inter-
ventions related to purported charges of ordinary 
law crimes that are fabricated for political or other 
unlawful motives. 
(6) According to the Justice Manual of the 
United States Department of Justice, ‘‘[i]n the 
United States, national law prohibits the arrest of 
the subject of a Red Notice issued by another 
INTERPOL member country, based upon the notice 
alone’’ and requires the existence of a valid extra-
dition treaty between the requesting country and the 
United States, a diplomatic request for provisional 
arrest of the subject individual, and an arrest war-
rant from the United States Attorney’s Office of the 
subject jurisdiction. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that the Russian Federa-
tion and other autocratic countries have abused 
INTERPOL’s databases and processes, including Notice 
and Diffusion mechanisms and the Stolen and Lost Travel 
Document Database, for political and other unlawful pur-
poses, such as intimidating, harassing, and persecuting 
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political opponents, journalists, members of civil society, 
and non-pliant members of the business community. 
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States: 
(1) To use the voice, vote, and influence of the 
United States within INTERPOL’s General Assem-
bly and Executive Committee to promote the fol-
lowing objectives aimed at improving the trans-
parency of INTERPOL and ensuring its operation 
consistent with its Constitution, particularly articles 
2 and 3, and Rules on the Processing of Data: 
(A) Enhance the screening process for No-
tices, Diffusions, and other INTERPOL com-
munications to ensure they comply with 
INTERPOL’s Constitution and Rules on the 
Processing of Data. 
(B) In cases in which INTERPOL has de-
termined that a member country issued a No-
tice, Diffusion, or other INTERPOL commu-
nication against an individual in violation of Ar-
ticles 2 or 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution, 
require such member country to seek the ap-
proval of the Commission for the Control of 
INTERPOL’s Files (CCF) prior to publishing 
any subsequent Notices, Diffusions, or other 
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INTERPOL communication against the same 
individual. 
(C) Impose penalties on countries for reg-
ular or egregious violations of INTERPOL’s 
Constitution or Rules on the Processing of 
Data, including the temporary suspension of 
member countries’ access to INTERPOL sys-
tems. 
(D) 
Fill 
vacant 
positions 
within 
INTERPOL’s structures, including the Presi-
dency, General Secretariat, and CCF, with can-
didates who have demonstrated experience re-
lating to and respect for the rule of law. 
(E) Oppose the appointment to senior posi-
tions within INTERPOL of candidates from 
member countries that commit regular viola-
tions of the rule of law or INTERPOL’s Con-
stitution or Rules on the Processing of Data, 
and disqualify any candidate from a member 
country that has had its access to INTERPOL 
systems temporarily suspended at any time in 
the prior five years. 
(F) Require INTERPOL in its annual re-
port to provide a detailed account of the fol-
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lowing information, disaggregated by member 
country or entity: 
(i) The number of Notice requests, 
disaggregated by color, that it received. 
(ii) The number of Notice requests, 
disaggregated by color, that it rejected. 
(iii) The category of violation identi-
fied in each instance of a rejected Notice. 
(iv) The number of Diffusions that it 
cancelled without reference to decisions by 
the CCF. 
(v) The sources of all INTERPOL in-
come during the reporting period. 
(vi) 
Every 
instance 
in 
which 
INTERPOL suspends or withdraws the 
access rights or otherwise sanctions a 
member country and the reason for taking 
such measures. 
(G) Require the CCF in its annual report 
to provide a detailed account of the following 
information, disaggregated by country: 
(i) The number of admissible com-
plaints received by the CCF regarding 
issued Notices, Diffusions, and other 
INTERPOL communications. 
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(ii) The category of violation alleged 
in each such complaint. 
(iii) The outcome of the CCF’s adju-
dication of each complaint, specifying 
whether a violation was found and, if so, 
what specific category of violation was 
identified. 
(iv) The course of action taken by the 
CCF in response to its adjudication of 
each complaint, such as deleting or cor-
recting the subject INTERPOL file or 
files. 
(v) The number of preventive requests 
received by the CCF and the outcome of 
the CCF’s adjudication of each such re-
quest. 
(2) To direct relevant U.S. departments and 
agencies to take appropriate action in response to 
credible information of likely attempts by member 
countries to abuse INTERPOL communications for 
politically motivated or other unlawful purposes, in-
cluding by— 
(A) using bilateral and multilateral en-
gagements with INTERPOL member countries, 
as appropriate, to raise the United States seri-
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ous 
concerns 
about 
attempts 
to 
abuse 
INTERPOL systems in violation of Articles 2 
and 3 of INTERPOL’s Constitution; 
(B) lodging demarches, as appropriate, 
with the government of the violating member 
country for such abuses of INTERPOL com-
munications; 
(C) engaging with foreign immigration and 
security services, as appropriate, to alert such 
services to the abusive nature of INTERPOL 
communications against targeted individuals 
who may enter the jurisdiction of such a service 
during the course of international travel; 
(D) engaging with foreign immigration and 
security services, as appropriate, to secure the 
freedom of targeted individuals if such individ-
uals are detained on the basis of such an 
INTERPOL communication; and 
(E) engaging with foreign financial and 
treasury authorities, as appropriate, to ensure 
the freedom of targeted individuals to conduct 
lawful commerce within their jurisdiction. 
SEC. 5. REPORT ON THE ABUSE OF INTERPOL SYSTEMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, 
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in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Secretary, 
the Secretary of State, and the heads of other relevant 
United States Government departments or agencies shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re-
port containing an assessment of how INTERPOL mem-
ber countries abuse INTERPOL Red Notices, Diffusions, 
and other INTERPOL communications for political mo-
tives and other unlawful purposes within the past three 
years. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub-
section (a) shall include the following elements: 
(1) A description of— 
(A) the most common tactics employed by 
member countries in conducting such abuse, in-
cluding the crimes most commonly alleged and 
the INTERPOL communications most com-
monly exploited; 
(B) how many INTERPOL communica-
tions are blocked by INTERPOL authorities 
because of suspected politically motivated 
abuse; and 
(C) which countries are responsible for the 
greatest volume and most frequent abuse of 
INTERPOL 
communications 
and 
whether 
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INTERPOL has imposed any penalty on these 
member countries for this abuse. 
(2) 
An 
assessment 
of 
the 
adequacy 
of 
INTERPOL mechanisms for challenging abusive re-
quests, including the Commission for the Control of 
INTERPOL’s Files (CCF), and any shortcoming 
the United States believes should be addressed. 
(3) A description of any incidents in which the 
Department of Justice assesses that United States 
courts and executive departments or agencies have 
relied on INTERPOL communications in contraven-
tion of existing law or policy to seek the detention 
of individuals or render judgments concerning their 
immigration status or requests for asylum, with-
holding of removal, or convention against torture 
claims and any measures the Department of Justice 
or other executive departments or agencies took in 
response to these incidents. 
(4) A description of how the United States 
monitors and responds to likely instances of abuse of 
INTERPOL communications by member countries 
that could affect the interests of the United States, 
including citizens and nationals of the United 
States, employees of the United States Government, 
aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in 
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the United States, aliens who are lawfully present in 
the United States, or aliens with pending asylum, 
withholding of removal, or convention against tor-
ture claims, though they may be unlawfully present 
in the United States. 
(5) A description of what actions the United 
States takes in response to credible information it 
receives concerning likely abuse of INTERPOL com-
munications targeting employees of the United 
States Government for activities they undertook in 
an official capacity. 
(6) A description of United States advocacy for 
reform and good governance within INTERPOL. 
(7) A strategy for improving interagency coordi-
nation to identify 
and 
address 
instances 
of 
INTERPOL abuse that affect the interests of the 
United States, including international respect for 
human rights and fundamental freedoms, citizens 
and nationals of the United States, employees of the 
United States Government, aliens lawfully admitted 
for permanent residence in the United States, aliens 
who are lawfully present in the United States, or 
aliens with pending asylum, withholding of removal, 
or convention against torture claims, though they 
may be unlawfully present in the United States. 
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(8) An estimate of the costs involved in estab-
lishing such improvements. 
(c) FORM OF REPORT.—Each report required by sub-
section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form and be 
published in the Federal Register, but may include a clas-
sified annex, as appropriate. 
(d) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after the 
submission of the report in subsection (a), and every 180 
days after for two years, the Department of Justice, in 
coordination with the Department of Homeland Secretary, 
the Department of State, and the heads of other relevant 
United States Government departments and agencies shall 
brief the appropriate congressional committees on recent 
instances of INTERPOL abuse by member countries and 
United States efforts to identify and challenge such abuse, 
including efforts to promote reform and good governance 
within INTERPOL. 
SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON DENIAL OF SERVICES. 
(a) ARRESTS.—No United States Government de-
partment or agency may arrest an individual who is the 
subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice or Diffusion issued 
by another INTERPOL member country, based solely 
upon the INTERPOL communication without— 
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(1) prior verification of the individual’s eligi-
bility for extradition under a valid bilateral extra-
dition treaty for the specified crime or crimes; 
(2) receipt of a diplomatic request for provi-
sional arrest from the requesting country; and 
(3) the issuance of an arrest warrant in compli-
ance with section 3184 of title 18, United States 
Code. 
(b) REMOVAL
AND TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.—No 
United States Government department or agency may 
make use of any INTERPOL Notice, Diffusion, or other 
INTERPOL communication, or the information contained 
therein, published on behalf of another INTERPOL mem-
ber country with which the United States Government is 
not a party to a valid bilateral extradition treaty as the 
sole basis to detain or otherwise deprive an individual of 
freedom, to remove an individual from the United States, 
or to deny a visa, asylum, citizenship, other immigration 
status, or participation in any trusted traveler program 
of the Transportation Security Administration, without 
first verifying through the NCB, in coordination with the 
Department of State and other relevant United States 
government departments or agencies, that the subject 
INTERPOL communication likely comports with articles 
2 and 3 of INTERPOL’s Constitution. 
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SEC. 7. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
PRACTICES. 
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended— 
(1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by add-
ing at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(h) POLITICALLY MOTIVATED REPRISAL AGAINST 
INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY.—The report re-
quired by subsection (d) shall include examples from cred-
ible reporting of likely attempts by countries to misuse 
international law enforcement tools, such as INTERPOL 
communications, for politically motivated reprisal against 
specific individuals located in other countries’’; and 
(2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)— 
(A) by redesignating the second subsection 
(i) (relating to child marriage status) as sub-
section (j); and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(k) POLITICALLY MOTIVATED REPRISAL AGAINST 
INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY.—The report re-
quired by subsection (b) shall include examples from cred-
ible reporting of likely attempts by countries to misuse 
international law enforcement tools, such as INTERPOL 
communications, for politically motivated reprisal against 
specific individuals located in other countries.’’. 
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SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Appropriations, and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Appropriations, and the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
(2) INTERPOL
COMMUNICATIONS.—The term 
‘‘INTERPOL 
communications’’ 
means 
any 
INTERPOL Notice or Diffusion or any entry into 
any INTERPOL database or other communications 
system maintained by INTERPOL. 
Æ 
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