[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2139 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2139

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of 
 Homeland Security to prioritize strengthening of State and local law 
    enforcement capabilities to combat transnational repression and 
 terrorism threats related to transnational repression, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 2025

 Mr. Magaziner (for himself, Mr. Pfluger, Mr. Goldman of New York, and 
    Mr. Evans of Colorado) 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 amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of 
 Homeland Security to prioritize strengthening of State and local law 
    enforcement capabilities to combat transnational repression and 
 terrorism threats related to transnational repression, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Strengthening State and Local 
Efforts to Counter Transnational Repression Act''.

SEC. 2. COUNTERING TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle H of title VIII of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 361 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 890E. STRENGTHENING STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS TO 
              COUNTER TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION AND TERRORISM THREATS 
              RELATED TO TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with public and 
private sector stakeholders, shall, in a manner consistent with the 
protection of privacy rights, civil rights, and civil liberties, 
develop, through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers and in 
coordination with the Assistant Secretary for State and Local Law 
Enforcement and the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, a 
training program to enhance the capabilities of State, local, Tribal, 
campus, and territorial law enforcement personnel, including personnel 
of the National Network of Fusion Centers, to counter transnational 
repression and terrorism threats related to transnational repression.
    ``(b) Requirements.--The training program developed pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall relate to the following:
            ``(1) Identifying instances of transnational repression and 
        terrorism threats related to transnational repression.
            ``(2) Types of information that should be collected and 
        recorded in information technology systems to help identify 
        suspected perpetrators of transnational repression and 
        terrorism threats related to transnational repression.
            ``(3) Types of information that should be shared routinely 
        with the private sector, including faith-based organizations, 
        educational institution authorities, and communities that may 
        be targets or are victims of transnational repression and 
        terrorism threats related to transnational repression.
            ``(4) Identifying suspected targets or victims of 
        transnational repression and terrorism threats related to 
        transnational repression.
            ``(5) Personal safety best practices for individuals and 
        communities that may be targets or are victims of transnational 
        repression and terrorism threats related to transnational 
        repression to prevent and mitigate transnational repression and 
        terrorism threats related to transnational repression and 
        ensure that such targets and victims are afforded prompt 
        information about and access to victim support resources, 
        including such resources offered by the Cybersecurity and 
        Infrastructure Security Agency, United States Citizenship and 
        Immigration Services, and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil 
        Liberties, to address the immediate and long-term needs of such 
        targets and victims.
    ``(c) Provision of Certain Trainings.--Trainings developed pursuant 
to subsection (a) shall be provided by the Federal Law Enforcement 
Training Centers or another office or component of the Department if 
the Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers determines 
such other office or component is accredited by the Federal Law 
Enforcement Training Accreditation Model Practice Clearinghouse or 
pursuant to a substantially similar process.
    ``(d) Community Awareness Briefings.--The Assistant Secretary of 
Partnership and Engagement and the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil 
Liberties, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Intelligence 
and Analysis, as appropriate, shall engage with State, local, Tribal, 
campus, and territorial law enforcement personnel, including personnel 
of the National Network of Fusion Centers, and individuals and 
communities that may be targets or are victims of transnational 
repression and terrorism threats related to transnational repression, 
including by informing such individuals and communities about how to 
identify transnational repression and terrorism threats related to 
transnational repression and protect against transnational repression 
and terrorism threats related to transnational repression.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Personal safety best practices.--The term `personal 
        safety best practices' means measures for enhancing 
        individuals' and communities' physical security, situational 
        awareness, and online security.
            ``(2) 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 any of the following:
                            ``(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 reasonable fear 
                        of death or serious bodily injury or 
                        imprisonment, a person to forebear from 
                        exercising the First Amendment rights of such 
                        person 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.
                            ``(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.
            ``(3) 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)).''.
    (b) Research and Development.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall, to the extent practicable, coordinate with the Under Secretary 
for Science and Technology and the Assistant Secretary for State and 
Local Law Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security to--
            (1) carry out research and development of a technology to 
        enhance participation rates in training offered to other State, 
        local, Tribal, campus, and territorial law enforcement 
        personnel, including personnel of the National Network of 
        Fusion Centers, for the purpose of enhancing domestic 
        preparedness for and collective response to transnational 
        repression and terrorism threats related to transnational 
        repression and other homeland security threats; and
            (2) share information relating to researching and 
        developing methods for identifying instances, suspected 
        targets, and victims of transnational repression and terrorism 
        threats related to transnational repression, and methods for 
        collecting and recording information to help identify suspected 
        perpetrators of transnational repression and terrorism threats 
        related to transnational repression.
    (c) Comptroller General Review.--Not later than two years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation 
of section 890E of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by 
subsection (a).
    (d) 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. Strengthening State and local law enforcement efforts to 
                            counter transnational repression and 
                            terrorism threats related to transnational 
                            repression.''.
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