Flash: Magaziner’s Bill to Combat Transnational Repression on US Soil Passes Through Subcommittee
From The Office of Rhode Island Congressman Seth Magaziner:
Magaziner’s Bill to Combat Transnational Repression on US Soil Passes Through Subcommittee
Today, the Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence approved U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner’s (RI-02) Strengthening State and Local Efforts to Combat Transnational Repression Act, bipartisan legislation to crack down on coercive tactics used by repressive foreign governments to silence political dissidents, activists, and journalists within the United States.
Rep. Magaziner, who serves as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, sponsored the bill to train state and local law enforcement to identify and counter transnational repression by authoritarian regimes.
“Foreign governments are increasingly breaking U.S. laws to threaten, harass, spy on, and even harm people in our country—with political dissidents and journalists facing attacks by repressive regimes right here on American soil,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner. “Free speech is a core American value, and no one should fear intimidation or violence for speaking out. My bill will ensure local law enforcement gets the proper training to identify and investigate these threats in America’s hometowns.”
Rep. Magaziner’s legislation requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a transnational repression threat training program for state, local, tribal, campus, and territorial law enforcement, including Fusion Center personnel. The specialized training will help these law enforcement officers, who are the first line of defense in our communities, counter the threat of transnational repression and protect those seeking refuge from authoritarian regimes.
The bill advanced out of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence as part of a bipartisan package aimed at combating transnational repression. The package includes the Countering Transnational Repression Act of 2025, sponsored by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. Pfluger’s bill will establish a dedicated transnational repression working group within the Department of Homeland Security. It also includes the Law Enforcement Support and Counter Transnational Repression Act, sponsored by Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colorado, which will establish a public service announcement campaign to address this threat.
BACKGROUND
A quarter of the world’s governments (48 states) around the world have reached beyond their borders to forcibly silence political dissidents – including on U.S. soil – according to data by Freedom House. The top ten perpetrators over the past ten years were the governments of Russia, Cambodia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkey, and China. And in 2023, Freedom House reported 125 incidents of physical transnational impression that included assassinations, abductions, assaults, detentions, and unlawful deportations.
