Sponsors (4)
The bill strengthens SLTT capacity to spot and mitigate risks from foreign visitors through increased DHS intelligence-sharing and oversight, at the expense of heightened privacy concerns and added administrative and resource burdens for federal and local governments.
State, local, Tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments will receive targeted threat analyses, vetting assistance, and classified/unclassified information sharing from DHS to better identify and protect nonpublic information and facilities from risky foreign visitors.
Congress will receive annual reports on DHS assistance to SLTT governments, improving transparency and oversight of federal support and information-sharing activities.
Increased collection and sharing of nonpublic SLTT information raises privacy and civil liberties risks for local communities, tribal residents, and government officials.
Providing classified information and related vetting assistance to SLTT entities creates administrative, security, and training burdens on those governments to handle sensitive material securely.
Expanded DHS duties and reporting requirements impose costs and time burdens on DHS and fusion centers that could divert resources from other priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires DHS to produce initial and annual threat analyses on foreign nationals' visits to SLTT governments, provide vetting assistance and outreach, and report on mitigation actions.
Official title: To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide threat analyses, including relating to terrorism threats, and guidance to State, local, Tribal, or territorial government officials or employees regarding visiting foreign nationals who seek access to State, local, Tribal, or territorial officials or employees, information, facilities, programs, or systems, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 9, 2026 by Daniel Goldman · Last progress February 9, 2026
Requires the Department of Homeland Security to produce an initial threat analysis within 180 days and annual updates for Congress about known visits by foreign nationals who seek meetings with or access to information, facilities, programs, or systems of State, local, Tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments. The law directs DHS to identify high‑risk SLTT targets, analyze trends using vetting requests submitted via fusion centers, provide tailored outreach and vetting assistance (including classified/unclassified information) to high‑risk SLTT governments, and request debriefings after assisted visits. Also requires DHS to submit an annual outreach-and-assistance report covering six-month periods beginning with the second annual threat report, coordinate as practicable with DHS Science & Technology on R&D to improve information sharing, and add a clerical table-of-contents entry to the U.S. Code. Key deadlines: initial threat analysis within 180 days of enactment, annual thereafter, debriefing request within 30 days after assisted visits, and six-month outreach reporting alongside annual reports.