Transnational Repression and US-based International Populations: Information and Resources

Foreign government officials sometimes conduct Transnational Repression Activities (TNR) targeting US-based international students and scholars via in-person and digital means to silence dissent, compel participation in pro-government activities, coerce the collection of information of fellow diaspora members and to self-repatriate. International students and scholars who don’t comply can include seizing of non-US assets, digital and in-person harassment and intimidation, and more, including threats to overseas family and friends. This TNR activity violates US law and individual rights. For international students, this severely constrains the ability to participate in classes where discussion of politics or world events may be monitored, and limits their opportunities to make connections among likeminded members of the campus community, and prevents them from studying democracy or advocating for human rights. For visiting scholars, some of whom have relocated to the US specifically because academic freedom has disappeared in their origin country, TNR extends the reach of authoritarian control into their new workplaces. Targeting by foreign governments means that faculty cannot speak freely about their research findings and, in some cases, may not be able to continue their life’s work without endangering themselves or their families. Join representatives from the FBI, campus police and ISSS representatives who will share information about TNR, discuss how to report instances of TNR and partnering with government agencies to support and communicate TNR information to international students and scholars.