TRAP Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1591 To counter efforts by foreign governments to pursue, harass, or otherwise persecute individuals for political and other unlawful motives overseas, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 12, 2021 Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. ROUNDS, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To counter efforts by foreign governments to pursue, harass, or otherwise persecute individuals for political and other unlawful motives overseas, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transnational Repres- 4 sion Accountability and Prevention Act of 2021’’ or as the 5 ‘‘TRAP Act of 2021’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress makes the following findings: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1591 IS (1) The International Criminal Police Organiza- 1 tion (INTERPOL) works to prevent and fight crime 2 through enhanced cooperation and innovation on po- 3 lice and security matters, including kleptocracy, 4 counterterrorism, cybercrime, counternarcotics, and 5 transnational organized crime. 6 (2) United States membership and participation 7 in INTERPOL advances the national security and 8 law enforcement interests of the United States re- 9 lated to combating kleptocracy, terrorism, 10 cybercrime, narcotics, and transnational organized 11 crime. 12 (3) Article 2 of INTERPOL’s Constitution 13 states that the organization aims ‘‘[to] ensure and 14 promote the widest possible mutual assistance be- 15 tween all criminal police authorities . . . in the spir- 16 it of the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ ’’. 17 (4) Article 3 of INTERPOL’s Constitution 18 states that ‘‘[i]t is strictly forbidden for the Organi- 19 zation to undertake any intervention or activities of 20 a political, military, religious or racial character’’. 21 (5) These principles provide INTERPOL with a 22 foundation based on respect for human rights and 23 avoidance of politically motivated actions by the or- 24 ganization and its members. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1591 IS (6) Some INTERPOL member countries have 1 used INTERPOL’s databases and processes, includ- 2 ing Notice and Diffusion mechanisms and the Stolen 3 and Lost Travel Document Database, for activities 4 of a political or other unlawful character and in vio- 5 lation of international human rights standards, in- 6 cluding making requests to INTERPOL for inter- 7 ventions related to purported charges of ordinary 8 law crimes that are fabricated for political or other 9 unlawful motives. 10 (7) According to the Justice Manual of the 11 United States Department of Justice, ‘‘[i]n the 12 United States, national law prohibits the arrest of 13 the subject of a Red Notice issued by another 14 INTERPOL member country, based upon the notice 15 alone’’ and requires the existence of a valid extra- 16 dition treaty between the requesting country and the 17 United States, a valid request for provisional arrest 18 of the subject individual, and an arrest warrant 19 issued by a United States District Court based on 20 a complaint filed by the United States Attorney’s 21 Office of the subject jurisdiction. 22 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 23 It is the policy of the United States: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1591 IS (1) To use the voice, vote, and influence of the 1 United States, as appropriate, within INTERPOL’s 2 General Assembly and Executive Committee to pro- 3 mote the following objectives aimed at improving the 4 transparency of INTERPOL and ensuring its oper- 5 ation consistent with its Constitution, particularly 6 articles 2 and 3, and Rules on the Processing of 7 Data: 8 (A) Support INTERPOL’s reforms en- 9 hancing the screening process for Notices, Dif- 10 fusions, and other INTERPOL communications 11 to ensure they comply with INTERPOL’s Con- 12 stitution and Rules on the Processing of Data 13 (RPD). 14 (B) Support and strengthen INTERPOL’s 15 coordination with the Commission for Control 16 of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF) in cases in which 17 INTERPOL or the CCF has determined that a 18 member country issued a Notice, Diffusion, or 19 other INTERPOL communication against an 20 individual in violation of articles 2 or 3 of the 21 INTERPOL Constitution, or the RPD, to pro- 22 hibit such member country from seeking the 23 publication or issuance of any subsequent No- 24 tices, Diffusions, or other INTERPOL commu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1591 IS nication against the same individual based on 1 the same set of claims or facts. 2 (C) Support candidates for positions within 3 INTERPOL’s structures, including the Presi- 4 dency, Executive Committee, General Secre- 5 tariat, and CCF who have demonstrated experi- 6 ence relating to and respect for the rule of law. 7 (D) Seek to require INTERPOL in its an- 8 nual report to provide a detailed account of the 9 following information, disaggregated by member 10 country or entity: 11 (i) The number of Notice requests, 12 disaggregated by color, that it received. 13 (ii) The number of Notice requests, 14 disaggregated by color, that it rejected. 15 (iii) The category of violation identi- 16 fied in each instance of a rejected Notice. 17 (iv) The number of Diffusions that it 18 cancelled without reference to decisions by 19 the CCF. 20 (v) The sources of all INTERPOL in- 21 come during the reporting period. 22 (E) Support greater transparency by the 23 CCF in its annual report by providing a de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1591 IS tailed account of the following information, 1 disaggregated by country: 2 (i) The number of admissible requests 3 for correction or deletion of data received 4 by the CCF regarding issued Notices, Dif- 5 fusions, and other INTERPOL commu- 6 nications. 7 (ii) The category of violation alleged 8 in each such complaint. 9 (2) Put in place procedures, as appropriate, for 10 sharing with relevant departments and agencies 11 credible information of likely attempts by member 12 countries to abuse INTERPOL communications for 13 politically motivated or other unlawful purposes so 14 that, as appropriate, action can be taken in accord- 15 ance with their respective institutional mandates. 16 SEC. 4. REPORT ON THE ABUSE OF INTERPOL SYSTEMS. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, 19 in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Secretary, 20 the Secretary of State, and the heads of other relevant 21 United States Government departments or agencies shall 22 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re- 23 port containing an assessment of how INTERPOL mem- 24 ber countries abuse INTERPOL Red Notices, Diffusions, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1591 IS and other INTERPOL communications for political mo- 1 tives and other unlawful purposes within the past three 2 years. 3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub- 4 section (a) shall include the following elements: 5 (1) A description of the most common tactics 6 employed by member countries in conducting such 7 abuse, including the crimes most commonly alleged 8 and the INTERPOL communications most com- 9 monly exploited. 10 (2) An assessment of the adequacy of 11 INTERPOL mechanisms for challenging abusive re- 12 quests, including the Commission for the Control of 13 INTERPOL’s Files (CCF), and any shortcoming 14 the United States believes should be addressed. 15 (3) A description of any incidents in which the 16 Department of Justice assesses that United States 17 courts and executive departments or agencies have 18 relied on INTERPOL communications in contraven- 19 tion of existing law or policy to seek the detention 20 of individuals or render judgments concerning their 21 immigration status or requests for asylum, with 22 holding of removal, or convention against torture 23 claims and any measures the Department of Justice 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1591 IS or other executive departments or agencies took in 1 response to these incidents. 2 (4) A description of how the United States 3 monitors and responds to likely instances of abuse of 4 INTERPOL communications by member countries 5 that could affect the interests of the United States, 6 including citizens and nationals of the United 7 States, employees of the United States Government, 8 aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in 9 the United States, aliens who are lawfully present in 10 the United States, or aliens with pending asylum, 11 withholding of removal, or convention against tor- 12 ture claims, though they may be unlawfully present 13 in the United States. 14 (5) A description of what actions the United 15 States takes in response to credible information it 16 receives concerning likely abuse of INTERPOL com- 17 munications targeting employees of the United 18 States Government for activities they undertook in 19 an official capacity. 20 (6) A description of United States advocacy for 21 reform and good governance within INTERPOL. 22 (7) A strategy for improving interagency coordi- 23 nation to identify and address instances of 24 INTERPOL abuse that affect the interests of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1591 IS United States, including international respect for 1 human rights and fundamental freedoms, citizens 2 and nationals of the United States, employees of the 3 United States Government, aliens lawfully admitted 4 for permanent residence in the United States, aliens 5 who are lawfully present in the United States, or 6 aliens with pending asylum, withholding of removal, 7 or convention against torture claims, though they 8 may be unlawfully present in the United States. 9 (8) An estimate of the costs involved in estab- 10 lishing such improvements. 11 (c) FORM OF REPORT.—Each report required by sub- 12 section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form and be 13 published in the Federal Register, but may include a clas- 14 sified annex, as appropriate. 15 (d) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after the 16 submission of the report in subsection (a), and every 180 17 days after for two years, the Department of Justice, in 18 coordination with the Department of Homeland Secretary, 19 the Department of State, and the heads of other relevant 20 United States Government departments and agencies shall 21 brief the appropriate congressional committees on recent 22 instances of INTERPOL abuse by member countries and 23 United States efforts to identify and challenge such abuse, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1591 IS including efforts to promote reform and good governance 1 within INTERPOL. 2 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON DENIAL OF SERVICES. 3 (a) ARRESTS.—No United States Government de- 4 partment or agency may arrest an individual for the pur- 5 pose of extradition who is the subject of an INTERPOL 6 Red Notice or Diffusion issued by another INTERPOL 7 member country, based solely upon the INTERPOL com- 8 munication without— 9 (1) prior verification of the individual’s eligi- 10 bility for extradition under a valid bilateral extra- 11 dition treaty for the specified crime or crimes; 12 (2) receipt of a valid request for provisional ar- 13 rest from the requesting country; and 14 (3) the issuance of an arrest warrant in compli- 15 ance with section 3184 of title 18, United States 16 Code. 17 (b) REMOVAL AND TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.—No 18 United States Government department or agency may 19 make use of any INTERPOL Notice, Diffusion, or other 20 INTERPOL communication, or the information contained 21 therein, published on behalf of another INTERPOL mem- 22 ber country as the sole basis to detain or otherwise deprive 23 an individual of freedom, to remove an individual from the 24 United States, or to deny a visa, asylum, citizenship, other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1591 IS immigration status, or participation in any trusted trav- 1 eler program of the Transportation Security Administra- 2 tion, without independent credible evidence supporting 3 such a determination. 4 SEC. 6. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 5 PRACTICES. 6 The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended— 7 (1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by add- 8 ing at the end the following new subsection: 9 ‘‘(h) POLITICALLY MOTIVATED REPRISAL AGAINST 10 INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY.—The report re- 11 quired by subsection (d) shall include examples from cred- 12 ible reporting of likely attempts by countries to misuse 13 international law enforcement tools, such as INTERPOL 14 communications, for politically-motivated reprisal against 15 specific individuals located in other countries.’’; and 16 (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)— 17 (A) by redesignating the second subsection 18 (i) (relating to child marriage status) as sub- 19 section (j); and 20 (B) by adding at the end the following new 21 subsection: 22 ‘‘(k) POLITICALLY MOTIVATED REPRISAL AGAINST 23 INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY.—The report re- 24 quired by subsection (b) shall include examples from cred- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1591.IS S1591 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1591 IS ible reporting of likely attempts by countries to misuse 1 international law enforcement tools, such as INTERPOL 2 comm [Text truncated for display. 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