The measures would dedicate personnel, training, and resources to monitor transnational repression from authoritarian regimes and protect target groups.
House lawmakers have reintroduced three bipartisan bills to strengthen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in countering the growing threat of repression from authoritarian regimes on U.S. soil.
“Transnational repression occurs when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Iranian regime, or other foreign actors extend their reach beyond their borders to silence Americans and dissidents through various tactics, such as harassment, assault, attempted kidnapping, intimidation, and coercion,” members of the House Committee on Homeland Security committee
said in a March 14 press release.
One
bill is the Countering Transnational Repression Act of 2025, which would set up an office in DHS dedicated to transnational repression to analyze and monitor transnational repression and related terrorism threats. The office would assess transnational repression incidents and the federal efforts to investigate and disrupt such acts in an annual report for seven years after the bill’s enactment into law. They’d also share information related to the issue to federal and local partners.
The Law Enforcement Support and Counter Transnational Repression Act
directs the department’s Office of Partnership and Engagement to conduct campaigns to educate the public and international allies about transnational repression as well as resources to help victims.
The third
bill, Strengthening State and Local Efforts to Counter Transnational Repression Act, would require the DHS to prioritize equipping state and local law enforcement to combat transnational repression.
This involves developing a training program to help identify instances of transnational repression, suspected perpetrators and potential targets. The training would also cover what information law enforcement personnel should routinely share with the private sector, including faith-based organizations, educational institutions, and communities that could fall prey to the state-sponsored coercion campaign, as well as personal safety practices they could take to mitigate the threats. It further clarifies resources available to assist with targets and victims’ short and long term needs both within the department and from other agencies.
The legislation also requires DHS’s branches for engagement, civil liberties, and intelligence and analysis to engage with law enforcement networks nationally and individuals and communities under threat to protect them from harm.
The respective chief sponsors of the bills are Reps. August Pfluger (R-Texas), Gabe Evans (R-Colo.), and Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.).
“As our adversaries continue to grow increasingly aggressive, conducting transnational repression against dissidents or journalists within the United States, we must address these threats and protect those who speak out against tyranny and human rights abuses abroad,” Pfluger said in a statement. “The hostile acts we are seeing across the country are a direct challenge to our nation’s sovereignty and infringe upon Americans’ civil liberties.”
Evans said he’s proud to be part of the bipartisan effort to support law enforcement agencies to push back against authoritarian regimes seeking to “undermine our nation’s sovereignty and individuals’ freedoms.”
“America will not tolerate these attacks,” he said.
Magaziner said the three bills together send a “clear, bipartisan message: the United States will always stand for freedom and against authoritarian intimidation.”
“Free speech is a cornerstone of American democracy, but too often, repressive regimes try to silence dissidents even after they’ve fled to the United States,” he said, adding that he wants his bill to give law enforcement the tools needed to identify and stop foreign state actors from harassing and threatening people on U.S. ground.
Transnational repression operations, particularly arising from China, have been in to the spotlight recently.
One
target is the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, which showcases ancient Chinese civilization before the Chinese Communist Party took hold of China. The arts group has faced various pressure from the Chinese regime to disrupt its performance. In the past few months, they have experienced ransom demands and fake bomb
threats designed to scare theaters and audience members.
A U.S. court in September and November 2024
sentenced two Chinese agents who tried to bribe the IRS to revoke Shen Yun’s nonprofit status on behalf of a Chinese official.
A naturalized U.S. citizen in December 2024
pleaded guilty to operating a secret Chinese police station in New York City. His co-conspirator, who denied any wrongdoing, allegedly helped Chinese officials identify targeted dissidents in the United States.
Court documents suggest he had won distinction from a Chinese intelligence official for countering a human rights demonstration during Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s 2015 visit. The demonstration was held by practitioners of the spiritual group Falun Gong, which has been subjected to ongoing
persecution in China since 1999.
The House Homeland Security Committee has counted more than 60 cases of Chinese espionage and transnational repression from January 2021 to February 2025. Freedom House, a Washington human rights nonprofit, in a February
report ranked China as a leading perpetrator of transnational repression in 2024.
