This bill tackles a growing problem: foreign governments reaching across borders to intimidate, threaten, or harm people living in the United States or Americans abroad. This includes targeting political activists, journalists, religious minorities, and people from exile or diaspora communities who have fled their home countries. The bill recognizes that some foreign governments use tactics like surveillance, harassment, and intimidation to silence critics and opponents who are now living safely in America.

The bill requires the State Department to create a comprehensive strategy within nine months that addresses this threat. This strategy needs to include ways to work with other countries to stop transnational repression, hold foreign governments accountable, and protect vulnerable people. It also calls for examining whether U.S. laws need to be updated—for example, making it illegal for foreign agents to spy on diaspora communities or expanding rules about who counts as a foreign agent operating in America.

To make this work on the ground, the bill directs the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and other law enforcement agencies to train their staff on recognizing transnational repression tactics and identifying which communities are most at risk. The bill also requires creating a toolkit to help targeted individuals understand what resources and protections are available to them, and calls for investigating how foreign governments misuse personal data and surveillance technology purchased from American companies. The government will need to fund these efforts and provide annual updates to Congress on progress.