TRAP Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.4806 | Sponsor: Rep. Cohen, Steve (D-TN)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention Act of 2021 or the TRAP Act of 2021
This bill establishes requirements related to U.S. cooperation with International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) communications.
Specifically, no U.S. agency or department may extradite an individual based solely on an INTERPOL notice.
In addition, the Department of Justice and the Department of State must take certain actions to support reforms to increase transparency of INTERPOL, including with respect to its communications.
The bill also requires reports on countries that abuse INTERPOL communications for political motives and other unlawful purposes.

To counter efforts by foreign governments to pursue, harass, or 
   otherwise persecute individuals for political and other unlawful 
                           motives overseas.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Transnational Repression 
Accountability and Prevention Act of 2021'' or as the ``TRAP Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION ACCOUNTABILITY AND PREVENTION.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The International Criminal Police Organization 
        (INTERPOL) works to prevent and fight crime through enhanced 
        cooperation and innovation on police and security matters, 
        including kleptocracy, counterterrorism, cybercrime, 
        counternarcotics, and transnational organized crime.
            (2) United States membership and participation in INTERPOL 
        advances the national security and law enforcement interests of 
        the United States related to combating kleptocracy, terrorism, 
        cybercrime, narcotics, and transnational organized crime.
            (3) Article 2 of INTERPOL's Constitution states that the 
        organization aims ``[to] ensure and promote the widest possible 
        mutual assistance between all criminal police authorities . . . 
        in the spirit of the `Universal Declaration of Human Rights'''.
            (4) Article 3 of INTERPOL's Constitution states that ``[i]t 
        is strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any 
        intervention or activities of a political, military, religious 
        or racial character''.
            (5) These principles provide INTERPOL with a foundation 
        based on respect for human rights and avoidance of politically 
        motivated actions by the organization and its members.
            (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''.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that some 
INTERPOL member countries have repeatedly misused INTERPOL's databases 
and processes, including Notice and Diffusion mechanisms, for 
activities of an overtly political or other unlawful character and in 
violation of international human rights standards, including making 
requests to harass or persecute political opponents, human rights 
defenders, or journalists.
    (c) Support for INTERPOL Institutional Reforms.--The Attorney 
General and the Secretary of State shall--
            (1) use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 
        States, as appropriate, within INTERPOL's General Assembly and 
        Executive Committee to promote reforms aimed at improving the 
        transparency of INTERPOL and ensuring its operation consistent 
        with its Constitution, particularly articles 2 and 3, and Rules 
        on the Processing of Data, including--
                    (A) supporting INTERPOL's reforms enhancing the 
                screening process for Notices, Diffusions, and other 
                INTERPOL communications to ensure they comply with 
                INTERPOL's Constitution and Rules on the Processing of 
                Data (RPD);
                    (B) supporting and strengthening INTERPOL's 
                coordination with the Commission for Control of 
                INTERPOL's Files (CCF) in cases in which INTERPOL or 
                the CCF has determined that a member country issued a 
                Notice, Diffusion, or other INTERPOL communication 
                against an individual in violation of articles 2 or 3 
                of the INTERPOL Constitution, or the RPD, to prohibit 
                such member country from seeking the publication or 
                issuance of any subsequent Notices, Diffusions, or 
                other INTERPOL communication against the same 
                individual based on the same set of claims or facts;
                    (C) increasing, to the extent practicable, 
                dedicated funding to the CCF and the Notices and 
                Diffusions Task Force in order to further expand 
                operations related to the review of requests for red 
                notices and red diffusions;
                    (D) supporting candidates for positions within 
                INTERPOL's structures, including the Presidency, 
                Executive Committee, General Secretariat, and CCF who 
                have demonstrated experience relating to and respect 
                for the rule of law;
                    (E) seeking to require INTERPOL in its annual 
                report to provide a detailed account, disaggregated by 
                member country or entity of--
                            (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 identified 
                        in each instance of a rejected Notice;
                            (iv) the number of Diffusions that it 
                        cancelled without reference to decisions by the 
                        CCF; and
                            (v) the sources of all INTERPOL income 
                        during the reporting period; and
                    (F) supporting greater transparency by the CCF in 
                its annual report by providing a detailed account, 
                disaggregated by country, of--
                            (i) the number of admissible requests for 
                        correction or deletion of data received by the 
                        CCF regarding issued Notices, Diffusions, and 
                        other INTERPOL communications; and
                            (ii) the category of violation alleged in 
                        each such complaint;
            (2) inform the INTERPOL General Secretariat about incidents 
        in which member countries abuse INTERPOL communications for 
        politically motivated or other unlawful purposes so that, as 
        appropriate, action can be taken by INTERPOL; and
            (3) request to censure member countries that repeatedly 
        abuse and misuse INTERPOL's red notice and red diffusion 
        mechanisms, including restricting the access of those countries 
        to INTERPOL's data and information systems.
    (d) Report on INTERPOL.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter for a period 
        of 4 years, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, in 
        consultation with the heads of other relevant United States 
        Government departments or agencies, shall submit to the 
        appropriate committees of Congress a report containing an 
        assessment of how INTERPOL member countries abuse INTERPOL Red 
        Notices, Diffusions, and other INTERPOL communications for 
        political motives and other unlawful purposes within the past 
        three years.
            (2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include the following elements:
                    (A) A list of countries that the Attorney General 
                and the Secretary determine have repeatedly abused and 
                misused the red notice and red diffusion mechanisms for 
                political purposes.
                    (B) A description of the most common tactics 
                employed by member countries in conducting such abuse, 
                including the crimes most commonly alleged and the 
                INTERPOL communications most commonly exploited.
                    (C) An assessment of the adequacy of INTERPOL 
                mechanisms for challenging abusive requests, including 
                the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files 
                (CCF), an assessment of the CCF's March 2017 Operating 
                Rules, and any shortcoming the United States believes 
                should be addressed.
                    (D) A description of how INTERPOL's General 
                Secretariat identifies requests for red notice or red 
                diffusions that are politically motivated or are 
                otherwise in violation of INTERPOL's rules and how 
                INTERPOL reviews and addresses cases in which a member 
                country has abused or misused the red notice and red 
                diffusion mechanisms for overtly political purposes.
                    (E) 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 contravention 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.
                    (F) 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 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.
                    (G) A description of what actions the United States 
                takes in response to credible information it receives 
                concerning likely abuse of INTERPOL communications 
                targeting employees of the United States Government for 
                activities they undertook in an official capacity.
                    (H) A description of United States advocacy for 
                reform and good governance within INTERPOL.
                    (I) A strategy for improving interagency 
                coordination 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.
            (3) Form of report.--Each report required under this 
        subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 
        include a classified annex, as appropriate. The unclassified 
        portion of the report shall be posted on a publicly available 
        website of the Department of State and of the Department of 
        Justice.
            (4) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the submission 
        of each report under paragraph (1), the Department of Justice 
        and the Department of State, in coordination with other 
        relevant United States Government departments and agencies, 
        shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the 
        content of the reports and 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.
    (e) Prohibition Regarding Basis for Extradition.--No United States 
Government department or agency may extradite an individual based 
solely on an INTERPOL Red Notice or Diffusion issued by another 
INTERPOL member country for such individual.
    (f) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (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.
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