The Canadian government’s recent allegations of Indian government involvement in the assassinations of Canadian Sikhs have the sordid quality of a Hollywood B-movie. The Canadian Royal Mounted Police allege that corrupt Indian diplomats worked with imprisoned Indian mob boss Lawrence Bishnoi to carry out overseas assassinations on two Indian Sikhs living in Canada, cooperating with other criminals on a campaign of widespread “extortion, intimidation, coercion and harassment.”

As disturbing as these charges are, the allegations are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Indian government’s transnational repression, in particular against Indian Americans. The Indian government also allegedly put out a hit on an American Sikh living New York, has revoked overseas citizenship statuses of vocal critics, and detained and intimidated the India-based relatives of Indians living in the states.

Against these mounting threats, California representative Adam Schiff has initiated a vital campaign to protect Americans from transnational repression. His bipartisan Transnational Repression Reporting Act of 2024 — co-sponsored by Representatives Daniel S. Goldman (D-NY), David Valadao (R-CA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Barbara Lee (D-CA), James McGovern (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) — would institute an annual public-facing reporting process that would help raise the profile of Americans targeted by foreign governments. The U.S. congress should lend its full support to the bill, thereby taking a crucial first step towards addressing this growing problem.