Homeland Security and the Privacy of the Citizens

¶ … Patriot Act also has the ability to strip the American public of their basic rights to privacy. The Patriot Act allows easy access to financial records, pen registers and trap-trace devices could be installed on personal computers and telephones, and student records can be accessed without consent of the school (Unpatriotic Acts). These unregulated powers are guaranteed by the Patriot Act in three amendments. These three amendments include the Title III, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) (The U.S.A. PATRIOT Act). They allow the government to search through private records in the interest of "national security." As result of these three amendments, thousands of immigrants in the United States have been detained and interrogated based upon their religions. Many of these immigrants, as in some cases, even American citizens, have been in federal military custody for months at a time while their backgrounds were rummaged through secretly.

Many strides have been taken to ensure individuals the right to privacy. One organization that has fought for these rights is the ACLU. The ACLU is one of the most well-known and powerful interest groups in America with nearly 400,000 members and handles nearly 6,000 court cases from their offices all over the country. The ACLU is "our nation's guardian of liberty." (About Us). They are a private group and work in courts, legislatures, and communities to protect the rights and liberties guaranteed to Americans by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The mission of the ACLU is to preserve and protect 1st Amendment rights of the American public, equal protection under the law for all races, genders, sexual orientation, and religions, the right to due process, and the right to privacy (About Us). Most of the ACLU's members are Democrats because of the beliefs the group supports including being pro-choice, as well as advocates of gay and individual rights. The ACLU is supported by annual payments from its members, as well as grants and donations from private organizations and individuals

For many years now, the ACLU has been extremely influential on public policy. And example of this influence can be seen in a case filed on July 30th, 2003 by the ACLU on behalf of six non-profit organizations that provide a wide range of religious, medical, social and educational services to communities around the country. The lawsuit was filed against Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller. The suit challenges the Patriot Act's ability to force organizations to disclose information regarding their members (ACLU - Patriot Act Fears). The Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor (MCA), the lead plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit, said in an affidavit that "attendance at prayer services, educational forums and social events has substantially dropped" and donations to the group are almost half of what they were before 2001. The group also said that some members have curtailed their political speech, and one member asked that all records pertaining to himself and his family be deleted from MCA's database (ACLU - Patriot Act Fears). This is only one of many cases in which the ACLU has taken an active role in protecting the rights of the American public. They want several aspects of the act repealed, namely, Section 215 because of its breech of Constitutional rights.

The ACLU has made considerable progress in the preservation of individual rights. On January 8th, 2004, Laura W. Murphy, the director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office and chief lobbyist, announced success in the fight to protect civil liberties. In Atlanta, GA, The Atlanta Council passed a resolution to limit the Patriot Act and "affirms its strong support for fundamental constitutional rights and its opposition to federal measures that infringe on civil liberties." (ACLU - First City). This resolution is the 236th of its kind passed on the local level and the first in the state of Georgia. Similar resolutions have been passed across the nation, from Hawaii to Vermont. Some of these resolutions contain strong legal language directing local law enforcement to avoid racial profiling or enforcing federal immigration laws. Several nation-wide organizations have also adopted similar resolutions including the American Library Association, the Japanese-American Citizens League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National League of Cities, the Organization of Chinese-Americans and Veterans for Peace. The Atlanta Resolution specifically suggests that local law enforcement refrain from enforcing federal immigration laws; refrain from collecting or maintaining information about the political, religious or social views, associations or activities of individuals or groups, and from engaging in racial profiling (ACLU - First City). Public libraries in the area are encouraged to display warnings that the Patriot Act may require the library to disclose to the FBI information about a patron's reading habits, and that the library is prohibited from informing patrons of such requests (ACLU - First City). This is just another success in the ACLU's crusade against the Patriot Act.