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USA PATRIOT Act: Discussion Questions
The USA PATRIOT Act, as the Department of Justice (2014) points out was enacted by Congress with an aim of equipping those charged with the enhancement of law and order with new tools to not only combat but also prevent acts of terror. An acronym, the PATRIOT Act, in the words of Ronczkowski (2006, p. 64), is "formally known as the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001."
Societal implications of the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act and related legislation limiting daily behaviors
Since its enactment, the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act has triggered significant controversy -- particularly with regard to its impact on civil liberties and freedoms. For instance, Title II of the act permits enhanced surveillance of individuals suspected of spying or perpetrating acts of terror against the United States. There are those who are concerned that this could create grounds for the impingement of citizen rights. As per the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the government, in the course of criminal investigations, has to obtain a warrant before embarking on searches. Thanks to Title II of the PATRIOT Act, a judge has no option but to authorize search applications, if the government certifies that the said search is terror related. This leaves the citizens of this great nation exposed to possibly unreasonable searches on their private properties -- particularly taking into consideration the fact that each and every individual ought to feel secure in his or her own 'castle.'
As Chang (as cited in White, 2013, p. 396) points out, the PATRIOT Act offers the government of the day "increased ability to look into the affairs of its own citizens, " thereby trampling "on reasonable expectations...
In addition to granting federal security agencies the power to monitor the search queries of individuals browsing the internet, the Act also compels ISPs to hand over information to designated federal agencies, on demand.
Concerns related to race, ethnicity, gender, age, and religion as they relate to law enforcement and security services
Concerns relating to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, etc., as they relate to security services and law enforcement are nothing new. There are well documented cases of alleged racial and ethnic profiling in which case law enforcement agents have been accused of making use of race and ethnicity as a factor in deciding those to arrest or investigate. Those who have, over time, been disproportionately targeted are minorities - with Blacks and Hispanics having, specifically, fallen victim to profiling in relation to drug and immigration related cases.
In the age of terrorism, national origin, religion, as well as ethnicity have been used as key factors, often informing the direction of investigations. As a matter of fact, following the September 2001 attacks, the Department of State, as Curtis (2010) points out, slowed the processing of visas for those (particularly men) from Muslim and Arab countries. Critics of the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act, as Curtis (2010, p. 605) further points out, have also been quick to add that "the government's focus on Middle Eastern and other Muslim males over other absconders was clear evidence of racial and religious profiling and bias."
The impact of technology and globalization and the balance of individual rights against public safety
The U.S. PATRIOT…
References
Curtis, E.E. (Ed.). (2010). Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing.
Department of Justice. (2014). Highlights of the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm
Ronczkowski, M.R. (2006). Terrorism and Organized Hate Crime: Intelligence Gathering, Analysis and Investigations (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
White, J. (2013). Terrorism and Homeland Security (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism is the extended terminology that refers to the U.S.A. Patriot Act which, following the events of 9/11 was passed by the Senate immediately and almost unanimously. When the Pentagon and the World Trade Center were attacked in 2001, concerns over national security and America's susceptibility to terrorist threats emerged more so as the country remained baffled
The effect is that exclusion is not only applied to those who would hurt the government but also to those that would uphold the same. The Patriot Act provides facilitation of shared information as well as cooperation between agencies of the government in order for all the pieces of the puzzle to fit together. The Act moves aside the barriers that have Constitutionally speaking prevented the police, intelligence as well
However the disclaimers of USA Patriot Act agree on the necessity of protecting the nation and the world against terrorism, they also emphasize on the need to further analyze and change the act so that it does protect the individual liberties of the U.S. citizens and respects the provisions in the American constitution. 5. Discussion The question that has been asked by many simple individuals relies in the true agenda of the
In this case, it may be seen that the Patriot Act does not protect all citizens. It can be used to violate basic human right. Use of National Security Letters. The use of National Security Letters where the government asks private agencies (media, banks, etc.) for private information and give a NSL, wherein said agency cannot divulge the fact that they had given the said information, has also been rampant.
The result is thousands of people denied the necessary refuge that they seek. Clintora condemns this as a "major policy gap (that) threatens not only human rights in individual countries but also jeopardizes international and regional stability and American regional influence and economic interests." Kreimer (2007) expounds upon the fact that few legislators had time to fully read the PATRIOT Act, when it was first proposed. Once enacted, there was
Political Science The USA Patriot Act Congress passed the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act in response to the terrorists' attacks of September 11, 2001. The Act gives federal officials larger authority to follow and seize communications, both for law enforcement and foreign intelligence gathering reasons. It gives the Secretary of the Treasury with regulatory powers to fight corruption of U.S. financial institutions for foreign money laundering reasons. It seeks to further shut the countries