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However, cases about terrorism where police investigate individuals who are fundamentalist Muslims, the religious group known to have produced the September 11 terrorists, are an almost immediate cry of "racial and religious profiling." Claims of racial profiling are complaints against what is an established police investigation method and are a last resort by accused individuals to divert attention away from their crimes and toward a more favorable outcome.
Situations of blatant racial discrimination (requiring Arab males to take a loyalty oath to the U.S., for example) or of invasions into private, law-abiding citizens' lives (pulling their library records), while contradictory to our ideals of individual rights, are really not likely to happen. The priority of the federal government is currently and will remain, naturally, in pursuing terrorist suspects whom they already have reasonable suspicions about as opposed to investigating and intruding into the private lives of law-abiding citizens.
A came to this panel with the intent of being a voice of moderation; I do intend to offer viewers an option between the violation of the civil liberties that they hold so dear and extending these rights and privileges to individuals whose intent is to harm the U.S.
There does exist a middle ground of protecting both the safety and liberties of American citizens; a way to ensure that all suspects are treated in a manner that is consistent with our traditional values of equal treatment and privacy while still maintaining national security and not unduly hampering the efforts of law enforcement officials.
Some provisions of the Patriot Act are expiring in December of 2005 (Wikipedia 2005). Debate...
Civil libertarians fear the renewal of the provisions, and national security hawks fear their repeal. Both sides have only the best interest of America in mind, they simply have different methods of ensuring that our way of life and our values are protected.
A propose that the solution to this dispute is for Congress to realize that during a time of war, like current days, that public outcry over potential government action is not justification for hampering the capabilities of law enforcement officials who are protecting the national security. For there to be ideals to protected at all, some power to investigate, observe, and interrogate suspected enemies of our nation must be given to police and the military in their interactions with suspected terrorists.
Thank you for your time and for allowing me to voice these issues today; I hope that the viewers will be able to see the middle ground regarding the U.S.A. Patriot Act and the powers of police at all levels to do their jobs.
Works Cited
Department of Justice website containing full text of USA PATRIOT Act, 2001. Accessed online 09/09/05 at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ056.107.pdf
Lithwick, Dahlia and Turner, Julia, 2003. "A Guide to the Patriot Act, Part 1: Should you be scared of the Patriot Act?" published online at Slate.com on 08/23/03 and accessed 09/09/05 at http://slate.msn.com/id/2087984/
USA PATRIOT Act" at Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, 2005. Accessed 09/09/05 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act
Works Cited
Department of Justice website containing full text of USA PATRIOT Act, 2001. Accessed online 09/09/05 at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ056.107.pdf
Lithwick, Dahlia and Turner, Julia, 2003. "A Guide to the Patriot Act, Part 1: Should you be scared of the Patriot Act?" published online at Slate.com on 08/23/03 and accessed 09/09/05 at http://slate.msn.com/id/2087984/
USA PATRIOT Act" at Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, 2005. Accessed 09/09/05 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act
Patriot Act In response to the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, Congress passed the U.S.A. Patriot Act, an act that gives federal officials more authority to track and intercept communications, for both law enforcement and foreign intelligence gathering purposes (Doyle, 2002). The Patriot Act also gives the Secretary of the Treasury regulatory powers to prevent corruption of U.S. financial institutions for foreign money laundering purposes. The U.S.A. Patriot Act
Patriot Act: Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages Increases the Effectiveness of Law Enforcement Agencies The Patriot Act which was signed as law by President George W. Bush on October 27, 2001 reads like a wish list of the law enforcing agencies. It was long-standing complaint of the law enforcers that the provisions contained in the Bill of Rights such as the "due process" of the Fourth Amendment constrained them in their investigations of suspected
This change is likely to come about as lawmakers realize how their skirting of Constitutional protections for one area they are in favor of can easily be applied to other areas once the door is opened for working outside the appropriate framework. Bibliography Edgar, T.H., (2003, February 14). Section-by-section analysis of Justice Department draft "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003," also known as "Patriot Act II." ACLU. http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/17203leg20030214.html Lithwick, D. And Turner,
Though out-and-out electronic monitoring of private information as evidence in a terrorist-related trial is highly unlikely, it nonetheless puts the average American citizen in a position where his or her privacy is greatly compromised (Soma, Nichols, Rynerson, Maish, and Rogers, 2005). Another section that deems careful scrutiny is Section 215 of the Patriot Act. This section allows the FBI to demand production of any "tangible things" for terrorism investigations. Vagueness
Some have even been detained for long periods of time without being informed when they would be released or even the reason for their detention. The situation at airports is no less dire. Some airlines have even refused to let Arabs on board because of their ethnic heritage and their perceived connection to terrorism. One important issue that is overlooked with regard to this is the fact that many white
It loosened the regulations needed to tap into conversations of suspect individuals, allowing the government to ease drop with much more ease. The act also allowed for greater freedom in collecting intelligence over seas and lesser restrictions on detaining suspects and deporting foreign nationals deemed to be dangerous by the U.S. government (Lithwick 2003). This allowed much greater power on the behalf of the federal government to detain suspicious