Combating Transnational Repression Act of 2024

Bill: 118-hr-7443
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11]
Introduced: 2024-02-23
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Congressional oversight

Crime prevention

Department of Homeland Security

Executive agency funding and structure

Federal officials

Intergovernmental relations

Research and development

Terrorism

Violent crime
Latest action: action_date: 2024-04-10
text: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7443 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 addition to the Committee on the Judiciary , 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 authorize a dedicated transnational repression office within 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Combating Transnational Repression Act of 2024 . 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), Special Interest Investigations Unit (SIIU), collaborates with Federal, State, and local partners to investigate allegations of transnational repression. (B) HSI, through its investigative authorities, works to deter, dismantle, and mitigate criminal enterprises and hostile foreign government actors engaged in transnational repression. (C) In October 2023, the Government Accountability 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. (D) According to GAO, several Federal agencies work to address transnational repression, including DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, which works to produce intelligence that support Federal, State, and local government entities to develop protective and support measures in response to threats of transnational repression, as well as DHS’s Office 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 stakeholders to learn about issues facing communities in the United States. DHS has also issued reporting for State and local law enforcement agencies to raise awareness about acts of transnational repression. (E) DHS’s OPE also works to share available Federal resources to help disrupt threats of transnational repression against United States citizens, with Federal, State, local, Tribal, and international partners so they coordinate 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 individuals in the United States and persons outside of the United States are real and growing; (B) agents acting on behalf of hostile foreign governments employ a range of transnational repression tactics, including making threats, intimidation, harassment, surveillance, 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 repression (1) In general Subtitle H of title VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 451 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 890E. Transnational repression (a) Office To analyze, monitor, and investigate transnational repression (1) In general There is established an office, 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 analyzing 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 Security Investigations. (B) Reporting The Director of the Transnational Repression Office shall report to the Secretary and the Director of Homeland Security Investigations regarding all administrative, operational, and security matters of the Office. (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 terrorism 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 reimbursement, consistent with applicable laws and regulations regarding such employees. (5) Information sharing The Office shall review information relating to transnational repression and related terrorism threats that is gathered by Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners, 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 Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners, and the National Network of Fusion Centers, of information related to transnational repression and related 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 Investigations, 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 Affairs of the Senate a report that assesses incidents of transnational repression and related terrorism threats during the immediately preceding 12 months. (B) Contents Each assessment submitted under subparagraph (A) shall also include the following: (i) An analysis attempted incidents of transnational repression and related terrorism threats. (ii) A quantitative analysis of transnational repression and related terrorism threats, including the number of individuals 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 responding to transnational repression and related terrorism threats. (iii) Subject to appropriate protections for sensitive information regarding law enforcement investigations and operations, a description of efforts by the Department to disrupt through investigation transnational repression and related terrorism threats. (iv) Any other matters the Director of Homeland Security Investigations determines relevant. (C) Form Each assessment under subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex 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 Security 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 enactment 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 enhancing the Department’s security and situational awareness support to Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial officials relating to combating transnational repression and related terrorism threats, in accordance with applicable constitutional, privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protections. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Agent of a foreign government The term agent of a foreign government means an individual or entity that operates subject to the direction or control of— (A) a foreign government; or (B) an official or entity of such foreign government. (2) Foreign government The term foreign government means the government of a foreign country. (3) Fusion center The term fusion center 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 Centers The term National Network of Fusion Centers means a decentralized arrangement of fusion centers intended to enhance individual State and urban area fusion centers’ ability to leverage the capabilities and expertise of all such fusion centers for the purpose of enhancing analysis and homeland security information sharing nationally. (6) Transnational repression The term transnational repression means an action of a foreign government or an agent of a foreign government that satisfies each of the following: (A) The action involves— (i) any effort intended to coerce, harass, or digitally or physically threaten, including by force or reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury or imprisonment of a person or an immediate family member of a person, a person to take an action in the interest of such a foreign government; (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 guaranteed 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 (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 Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2015 ( 50 U.S.C. 1708(d)(10) ). . (2) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 890D the following new item: Sec. 890E. Transnational repression. .