Sponsors (7)
The bill strengthens detection, response, and support for victims of transnational repression by expanding training, R&D, and outreach, but it raises significant privacy and surveillance risks for immigrant and minority communities and imposes additional costs and operational burdens on local agencies.
State, local, Tribal, campus, and territorial law enforcement will receive standardized training and guidance to better identify and respond to transnational repression and related terrorism threats, improving detection and response capabilities.
Immigrants, students, and residents of Tribal lands who are targets or victims will get faster access to safety guidance and referrals from CISA, USCIS, and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, helping them secure protections and services more quickly.
Local communities, including immigrant and student populations, will benefit from public awareness briefings that increase knowledge of transnational repression and encourage reporting and prevention.
Immigrants, students, and other vulnerable individuals face heightened risk that sensitive personal information collected and shared with private-sector and community organizations could be misused if privacy safeguards are inadequate.
Immigrant and diaspora communities could experience increased surveillance and scrutiny due to expanded reporting and data collection by Fusion Centers and local agencies, raising civil liberties and community-trust concerns.
Taxpayers may bear higher costs because expanded training and technology development increase DHS spending, potentially diverting funds from other priorities or raising budgetary pressure.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires DHS to develop and coordinate accredited training for non‑federal law enforcement to counter transnational repression while protecting civil rights and privacy, with a GAO report in two years.
Official title: 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.
Introduced March 14, 2025 by Seth Magaziner · Last progress March 14, 2025
Requires the Department of Homeland Security to develop and coordinate a training program for state, local, tribal, campus, territorial law enforcement and Fusion Center personnel to identify, investigate, and respond to transnational repression and related terrorism threats while protecting privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. The program must cover incident identification, data collection and sharing practices, victim safety and support, and may be delivered through FLETC or other DHS components if accredited. DHS must coordinate technology research and development to improve training and identification methods, and the Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on implementation within two years.