22 U.S.C. § 254c–1 — Policy toward certain agents of foreign governments

submitted 42 years ago by Pub. L. 98-618 to r/title-22-FOREIGN-RELATIONS-AND-INTERCOURSE · 288 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

Congress says foreign spies posing as diplomats shouldn't get better treatment here than we get abroad. The Secretary of State must consult the FBI and intelligence director when negotiating these terms. Officials must also report yearly on governments that break this reciprocal balance.

(a) Congress's view (a "sense of Congress," not a binding order) is that a foreign government engaged in intelligence activity harmful to U.S. national security should not get more official representatives, status, privileges, immunities, travel, accommodations, or facilities in the United States than the U.S. gets for its own representatives in that country. (b) When the Secretary of State negotiates reciprocal privilege-and-immunity agreements with foreign governments, the Secretary must consult with the Director of the FBI and the Director of National Intelligence, to help carry out the goal in (a). (c) Within 90 days of December 18, 2025, and every year after that for 5 years, the Secretary of State, the FBI Director, and the Director of National Intelligence must jointly report to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Foreign Relations Committee, Judiciary Committee, and Appropriations Committee, and to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Foreign Affairs Committee, Judiciary Committee, and Appropriations Committee. The report must cover each foreign government that both (1) conducts intelligence activities in the U.S. that harm U.S. national security, and (2) has more representatives, status, privileges, immunities, travel accommodations, or facilities here than the U.S. has for its representatives there.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)

It is the sense of the Congress that the numbers, status, privileges and immunities, travel, accommodations, and facilities within the United States of official representatives to the United States of any foreign government that engages in intelligence activities within the United States harmful to the national security of the United States should not exceed the respective numbers, status, privileges and immunities, travel accommodations, and facilities within such country of official representatives of the United States to such country.

(b)

The Secretary of State, in negotiating agreements with foreign governments regarding reciprocal privileges and immunities of United States diplomatic personnel, shall consult with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Director of National Intelligence in achieving the sense of Congress in subsection (a).

(c)

Not later than 90 days after December 18, 2025, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the Secretary of State, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Director of National Intelligence shall submit to the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report on each foreign government that—

(1)

engages in intelligence activities within the United States harmful to the national security of the United States; and

(2)

possesses numbers, status, privileges and immunities, travel accommodations, or facilities within the United States of official representatives to the United States that exceed the respective numbers, status, privileges and immunities, travel accommodations, or facilities within such country of official representatives of the United States to such country.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 98–618, title VI, § 601(a), (b), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3303; Pub. L. 119–60, div. F, title LXVII, § 6712(1), (3), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1649.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1984Enacted · Pub. L. 98-618 · 98 Stat. 3303
2025Amended · Pub. L. 119-60 · 139 Stat. 1649

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 98-618 on 1984-11-08.

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