H.R. 2158 — Countering Transnational Repression Act of 2025

This section expresses the sense of Congress that (1) transnational repression and terrorism threats by foreign governments or their agents targeting individuals in the United States and abroad are real and growing; (2) such agents employ tactics including threats, intimidation, harassment, surveillance, stalking, silencing, and planning physical harm or kidnapping; and (3) the Department of Homeland Security must recognize, assess, and address this threat to reduce risks to the people of the United States.

This section establishes the Transnational Repression Working Group within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), led by a director appointed by the Director of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), to analyze and monitor transnational repression (i.e., actions by foreign governments to silence dissidents abroad) and related terrorism threats in coordination with DHS's Office of Intelligence and Analysis. The working group is authorized sufficient staffing (including at least one privacy compliance officer), detailees from the intelligence community or other agencies, and bidirectional information sharing with federal, state, local, Tribal, territorial partners, and fusion centers. Not later than 180 days after enactment and annually thereafter for seven years, HSI's director—through the working group's director—must submit to the House and Senate Homeland Security committees an unclassified assessment (with classified annex as needed) of such threats during the prior 12 months, including quantitative analysis of perpetrators by nationality and foreign government roles, disruption efforts, and public posting of the unclassified portion; the group sunsets after seven years. Separately, not later than one year after enactment, the DHS Secretary must coordinate research and development of technologies and techniques to aid officials in countering such threats. All activities must comply with constitutional, privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protections.