USA Patriot Act Analysis

209 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Civil liberties

The USA PATRIOT Act was passed immediately after September 11 as a way to provide law enforcement with added powers to track down and punish those responsible for the attacks and to protect the United States against any similar acts from occurring in the future. According to Introduction to Homeland Security textbook, it also “gave the Department of Justice and law enforcement agencies such as the FBI new and significantly broader investigatory authority” (Oliver, Marion, & Hill. 2015. P.246). Even though this act gave these law enforcement new powers, it also creates controversies. For one, it invades the civil liberties of the American citizens. The act clearly violates the Fourth Amendment Right, which clearly prohibits searches and seizure

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Alien And Sedition Acts

    486 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Patriot Act violates many of the amendments in the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment, for example, gives American citizens freedom of speech, press, and religion. The Patriot Act allows the government to monitor the religious and political papers and institutions of citizens that are not even reasonable suspects for criminal activity. Church,

    Read More

  • Patriot Act 2: The Domestic Security Enhancement Act

    1629 Words  | 4 Pages

    After the horrendous terrorist attack on the New York Trade Center a new Bill was passed by congress shortly after September 11, 2004. This bill is known as The Domestic Security Enhancement Act also called Patriot Act 2. This bill was designed as a follow-up to the USA Patriot Act to work in increasing government surveillance, detention and other law enforcement powers while reducing basic checks and balances on such powers. By the beginning of the year 2003 a draft of the legislation was available.      Amongst the most severe problems the bill diminishes personal privacy by removing checks on government power, diminishes public accountability by increasing government secrecy, and diminishes corporate accountability under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Also the bill undermines fundamental constitutional rights of Americans under overboard definitions of “terrorism” and “terrorist organization” or under a terrorism pretext. Furthermore, unfairly targets immigrants under the pretext of fighting terrorism. (http://www.aclu.org/Safeand Free/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11835&c=206)

    Read More

  • The NSA, Privacy and the War or Terrorism

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as technology is changing. In order for us to continue living in the new digital decade, we must accept the government’s ability to surveil us.

    Read More

  • 2001 USA Patriot Act is Unconstitutional and Ineffective

    2102 Words  | 5 Pages

    While this act made legislative changes that increased surveillance and the investigative powers of law enforcement agencies to protect America from further terrorist acts, the passing of the USA Patriot Act has reduced the privacy rights of Americans and also does not provide for a system of checks and balances that safeguard civil liberties. Terrorism is a serious matter that should not be handled lightly, but the act has gone over the top in trying to stop terrorism. The USA Patriot Act, enacted for protecting America from further attacks, not only does little if anything to protect Americans, but rather undermines their civil rights. The Patriot Act targets not only terrorists, but also the American people which it intended to protect.

    Read More

  • The Patriot Act vs Civil Liberties

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Many opponents have come to see the patriot act as a violation of the fourth amendment to the U. S constitution.” (Belanger, Newton 2). The side effect of the patriot act is that it weakens many rights. This act weakens the fourth amendment which is our privacy protection. The fourth amendment allows citizens to be protected from unreasonable searches without a warrant. The police search suspects mainly because of their race or ethnic group.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Patriot Act

    2034 Words  | 5 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... The Patriot Act does not infringe upon the rights of citizens; it ensures that those who wish to harm this country have limited means to do so. The Patriot Act was passed as a means to allow better protection of citizens, given the current state of technology today.

    Read More

  • NSA Wiretapping

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    The NSA has been secretly ordered to eavesdrop by the Bush administration after the 9/11 terrorist attack. The base of where the NSA has been operating their wiretapping agenda is in Bluff Dale, Utah the building sprawls 1,500,000 square feet and possess the capacity to hold as much as five zeta bytes of data it has cost almost $2,000,000,000. The act of spying over the USA citizens even though they are suspicious is a threat to the people’s privacy and the privacy of other countries’ members are being infringed on by the NSA by the act of wiretapping. The action of wiretapping violates laws for privacy, like the Bill of Right’s Amendment Four which says “Every subject has a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches, and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all his possessions”. The wiretapping controversy has caused the panic and hysteria of the citizens of the USA and USA’s allies. This panic and hysteria has troubled the government by resulting to mistrust and concern against them by both groups. The panic effect of the NSA wiretapping has caused many people such as journalist to have their freedom of speech to be restricted in fear of the NSA to stamp them as terrorist and according to the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights that is an infringement of the people’s right of freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied rights of association and belief.

    Read More

  • The Constitutionality of the Patriot Act

    3034 Words  | 7 Pages

    Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Americans fear that another attack is imminent. To ease these fears, lawmakers created the USA Patriot Act which stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. This lengthy bill allows the justice department a great deal of power in criminal cases especially in those dealing with terrorism. While, according to lawmakers, the Patriot Act is aimed at ending terrorism, it is arguable that the Patriot Act is aimed at beginning a Big Brother-type society. For the government of the United States to enforce a law that encourages the obstruction of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments and other civil liberties is highly hypocritical and quite un-American.

    Read More

  • Homeland Security: The Patriot Act

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Patriot Act has been under scrutiny and opposition since its creation following 9/11. When 9/11 struck it was clear that Americas intelligence was lacking in some specific way, but it was translated that America needed greater allowance for gathering information. The Patriot Act was signed on October 26, 2001, very close to 9/11. It can be concluded that the Patriot Act was signed with such extreme ability’s applied, because of how close it was signed after 9/11. The Act Greatly expands the liberty’s if law enforcement in their efforts to gather information, which in turn imposes on the privacy of the American people. The FBI has the ability to study any citizen suspected of terrorism, and has access to all their information. Wire Taps and other invasive action are allowed and granted by the Patriot Act. Was the Patriot Act signed to quickly? Are its measures to extreme? When is the line drawn on how much power the government can have? Is the Patriot Act effective enough that it is necessary? Should we as Americans willing to trade freedom for safety? Can the Patriot Act effectively stop or hinder terrorist attacks; has its stopped enough attacks to be validated? Another question is does America want a government that has that much power, how much are we as Americans willing to sacrifice, and how much more liberty’s is the government going take. If the government can pass the patriot act, what other legislation can they pass? In reality it all comes down to the American people, we are democracy but do we have the power in are hands? When finding all these questions one asks do we need an act that is in fact this controversial? Is the Patriot Act a necessary evil? To find this answer we have to answer all the questio...

    Read More

  • The Patriot Act Protects America

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    The U.S. Patriot Act was set in place to better serve our country against terrorism.  The U.S. Patriot Act is an Acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Acts (Lithwick).  This act is to punish terrorist actions and improve law enforcement not only in the United States but also around the world. The United States Patriot Act consists of over 1,000 sections that describe the act in great detail.  The sections include, but are not limited to, the power extended to the government by The U.S. Patriot Act to deport and incarcerate non citizens. With the U.S. Patriot Act a person’s phone line can be tapped, records of any and all purchases checked, and even library records searched.  This Act also has sections to help money laundering, expand our country’s border protection, strengthening the extent of criminal laws and provide for people suffering from any type of terrorism acts (Huffman).

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Patriot Act

    1457 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is not what the Patriot Act was passed for; they have gone over their limits and are getting involved with things that don’t entirely concern them. This is exactly what infuriates the people because they are getting out of their boundaries to make a big fuss out of some minor crime that has nothing to pertain to terrorism. While the Patriot Act was put into place to stop terrorism, it has had a nasty after math. People suspected of terrorist activity have no civil rights. They are put in prison and held without due process regardless of whether they are innocent or not. This is just wrongful imprisonment because they don’t have a valid reason as to why they would put an innocent civilian behind bars. This act just concerns the people by any rational assessment. The power given to the government to conduct surveillance on citizens is just against the constitution because we have no privacy. The government is off-track and is labeling anyone as a suspected terrorist and will collect information about them. We are living in a society where slowly and slowly we’re going to lose most of our rights and be told what to do. We are gradually going to become somewhat close to a dictatorship and lose all of our rights. The Patriot Act also allows the above-mentioned sneak and peak warrants to be used for any federal crime,

    Read More

  • Patriot Act Pros And Cons

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. Its title is a ten-letter acronym (USA PATRIOT) that stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. After the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon the United States has developed mitigation controls to decrease the risk of these reoccurring. One of these mitigation controls is the USA Patriot Act. The Patriot Act’s purpose is to combat future acts of terrorism against the United States. Though its intentions are to prevent destruction of the United States; the access of personal information is causing an out roar throughout the country with questions of moral and ethical rights. When the Patriot Act was first signed into law, there was a surprising lack of objections regarding the effect the radical provisions would have on our society. The short time period in which the bill was written,

    Read More

  • Patriot Act Pros And Cons

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    It’s 9/11 and all you hear is cries from the people, while the Twin Towers crumbled down, the Pentagon engulfing in flames, and flight 93 crashing in a field. 19 men hijacked four commercial airlines. This terrorist attack on the United States was led by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. A total of 2,977 people were killed in New York City, Washington, DC and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, it was the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. This day in history damaged not only the nation, but the people. Citizens were in fear of what could happen on top of all the commotion. The Patriot Act was made to secure the nation, and help people recover from the terrorism attack of 9/11. Some people may think the Patriot Act had no effect on major things. However some people think wrong in the matter. George W. Bush’s enforcement on the Patriot Act of 2011 majorly effected local enforcements, federal agencies, and military regulations.

    Read More

  • The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

    2043 Words  | 5 Pages

    Domestic Surveillance Citizens feeling protected in their own nation is a crucial factor for the development and advancement of that nation. The United States’ government has been able to provide this service for a small tax and for the most part it is money well spent. Due to events leading up to the terrifying attacks on September 11, 2001 and following these attacks, the Unites States’ government has begun enacting certain laws and regulations that ensure the safety of its citizens. From the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 to the most recent National Security Agency scandal, the government has attempted and for the most part succeeded in keeping domestic safety under control. Making sure that the balance between obtaining enough intelligence to protect the safety of the nation and the preservation of basic human rights is not extremely skewed, Congress has set forth requisites in FISA which aim to balance the conflicting goals of privacy and security; but the timeline preceding this act has been anything but honorable for the United States government.

    Read More

  • Freedom Is Slavery

    426 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the world today, the Patriot Act states that it protects U.S. citizen's freedom. Iby ensuring the FBI's ability to examine anybody's daily activities. To me, this is a major contradiction. The Patriot Act is basically saying that the government has the ability to now control our freedom. According to the Patriot Act, law enforcement has the ability to access highly personal files such as medical, financial, and student records. This goes against the maxim freedom is slavery because this act is saying that it is ensuring American's freedom by allowing government officials to have surveillances on our everyday life. This is threatening many of our amendments. Some of our rights being threatened include the First Amendment: our freedom of religion, speech, and press. The Fourth Amendment is also in jeopardy, which is our freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Other Amendments in jeopardy include: the Sixth Amendment that allows due process, the Eighth Amendment that protects citizens from cruel and unusual punishment, and the Fourteenth Amendment that gives equal protection laws to everyone. Other instances that challenge the freedom vs. slavery maxim came when the president talked about amending the constitution concerning marriages. As of right now, America can choose who they want to marry. This represents the freedom Americans have now. If this is passed, then the government will be able to decide whom the public can marry. When I say, "who the public can marry," I mean as far as same sex marriages or traditional man and woman marriages. This takes away the freedom of expression that society has today and replacing it with rules and regulations, symbolizing slavery. The government has made society today feel the need for protection.

    Read More

More about USA Patriot Act Analysis

Open Document