The Congressional oath our federal leaders take includes a promise to support and defend our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. However, I am increasingly concerned about communications I’m receiving about people in our nation.

To put it simply, it seems the First Amendment, providing us with the right to free speech and expression, is not being upheld with the protection it deserves, allowing foreign entities to abuse domestic residents.

Through my own personal communications, and with my fellow members of the Asian Pacific American Affairs Caucus, I have received troubling reports of United States citizens, including ones in Connecticut, facing foreign censorship after criticizing those countries for their policies. What’s worse, this censorship appears to be working.

In one instance, I am in conversation with a U.S. resident and journalist facing pressure from the Pakistani government for his YouTube videos. In those videos, he criticizes the government’s policies and actions; in return, it is seeking to have his account taken down. The worst elements of this story? YouTube, owned by Google, an American company, appears to be receptive to Pakistan’s demands and is willing to strip videos from the man’s account.

When there is already a significant campaign working against immigrants in the United States — seen clearly in the targeting of non-violent immigrants by ICE and of a number of U.S. residents by federal officials over their past speech — the foreign interference of other nations on American soil represents a further threat to the security of our residents.

In addition to Pakistan, other governments have targeted and harassed residents of the United States. Chinese authorities have targeted critics and activists protesting treatment of the Uyghur people. Vox reported last year that the Indian government has regularly retaliated against academics and critics, including those in foreign nations.

In many cases, foreign governments targeting U.S. residents, especially those focused on their former residents, are going after those who may have left their home countries for better opportunity or to flee oppression, imprisonment or worse. The increasing connectivity of the world through technology, primarily through digital communication, makes it possible for repressive regimes to reach residents directly with threats, harassment and unwanted contact.

Should these foreign entities achieve their goals of silencing dissidents globally, with little or no interference or defense mounted by U.S. officials, what would stop them from becoming emboldened and expanding their approach or actions?

Our nation’s First Amendment provides our residents with the power and right to free speech and expression. International intimidation and manipulation of our residents, especially immigrants who have come here to build careers, businesses, families and lives, is a direct threat to those freedoms. When social media misinformation proliferates but abuse silences those who are speaking truth, we are in a new paradigm – one only made worse by a lack of digital regulation and lack of defense for those most impacted.

When the federal government is failing to act, it is time for state governments to step in and create these protections. We should treat foreign interference and harassment of this type like we treat hate crimes – with serious consequences, not only to stop an abuser but to prevent others from acting in a similar manner.

This year, I introduced legislation to the General Assembly that would update our statutes to require the State Police Hate Crimes Investigative Unit to respond to and investigate reports of repression or targeting by foreign nations against Connecticut residents. This would serve as an important layer of protection preserving the safety and security of our residents, and while it did not pass the legislature in 2025, I plan to reintroduce it in 2026 in the name of those impacted.

There is a reason why immigrants come to the United States: it offers freedoms and opportunities for success unobtainable in other regions, and, for some, a new home safe from oppressive foreign governments. To restore and preserve that strength, I am adamant that we must work to improve our protections.