October 15, 2025 - Hindus for Human Rights denounces Governor Newsom’s decision to veto SB 509 - a bipartisan and common-sense measure to protect Californians from the growing threat of transnational repression. This bill would have equipped law enforcement with the training and tools necessary to identify, prevent, and respond to the intimidation of Americans by foreign governments. In doing so, the Governor undermined Californians’ security and their democratic and civil rights.
Across the United States, activists, journalists, students, and faith-based advocates, especially those from immigrant communities, have faced similar patterns of harassment and intimidation for speaking against foreign authoritarian governments abroad. These actions target Americans who exercise their First Amendment rights. At Hindus for Human Rights, we know what these attacks look like. In fact, we have been the target of these kinds of attacks from the Government of India.
What we have experienced is part of a wider pattern across the United States. The FBI is currently investigating the drive-by shooting of a Sikh American in California as a potential act of transnational repression. The Hong Kong Democracy Council has documented how the Chinese government surveilled and harassed protesters during President Xi Jinping’s visit to San Francisco.
While Governor Newsom’s veto cites new law enforcement training efforts by the California Office of Emergency Services, we believe California needs more than a placeholder on a website. California needs resources for training, and those resources can only be mobilized by the legislature.. True safety cannot be achieved through symbolic gestures—it requires collaboration, accountability, and resources so that state governments can effectively support communities that are under attack from foreign authoritarians.
We are deeply concerned by Governor Newsom’s decision to heed the voices of organizations such as the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), and HinduACTion — groups that have spread lies, fear, and misinformation within our communities to advance their right-wing ideological agenda. These organizations have worked to shield the Government of India from accountability while enabling its efforts to intimidate Indians and Americans. HinduACTion has actively engaged in transnational repression against HfHR and our colleagues. By allowing such bad-faith actors to shape the narrative, this veto empowers those who seek to silence critics, weaken democratic safeguards, and divide immigrant communities already under threat from foreign interference.
Transnational repression is a grievous national security concern. It undermines the safety of our nation, the integrity of our democracy, and the unalienable rights of Americans.
Hindus for Human Rights will continue to work alongside partners across communities and faiths to expose, resist, and end the practice of transnational repression. We reaffirm that every person has the right to practice their faith, express their conscience, and stand for justice—free from the reach of foreign governments and their proxies.
###
