The Power Of Surveillance Of The Patriot Act

After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 the United States became a very different place. This drastic change was caused by the initial emotional reactions that American citizens, as well as government leaders had towards the tragic event. The government, in an effort to assure that these events never happen again passed the USA PATRIOT Act, which is an acronym that stands for the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. The major goal of this act is to combat terrorism by giving the government more leeway in what areas they are allowed to use their surveillance tools and also to what circumstances these tools can be used. The major issue that arise with this act are the fact that many of the act can be seen as unconstitutional.

With good intentions, the Patriot Act allows the government to pry into Americans' lives through computer and phone records as well as credit and banking history (Source 5). This oversteps the U.S. Constitution as the First and Fourth Amendment were created to give citizens freedom and the right to deny search and seizure

     In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks US Congress passed legislation known as the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 commonly known as the USA Patriot Act. This paper will attempt to prove that not only is the USA Patriot Act unconstitutional but many of its provisions do nothing at all to protect Americans from the dangers of terrorism.

In September 11, 2001 United States witnessed one of the worst attack that took place in New York and Pentagon. A lot of people died that day. And on October 26, 2001 George W. Bush singed the USA Patriot Act it was anti-terrorism law. The USA Patriot Act gave new powers to the Justice Department. Even if the law assured us the safety, it also violated the Bills of Rights. The purpose of the Bills of Right is to protect every individual from being violated. The USA Patriot Act of 2001 violated fourth amendment. “Fourth Amendment, protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. The Fourth Amendment, however, is not a guarantee against all searches and seizures, but only those that are deemed unreasonable under the law” (http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/what-does-0). Means that government cannot search without any warrant. And the government

Several acts severely infringe the civil liberties of Americans; for example, Title II of the act provides for enhanced surveillance procedures. Authority to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications became expanded if these communications might be related to terrorism or computer fraud. There are 25 separate sections providing significant new authority for the government to monitor mail, e-mail, voice mail, and telephone and computer communications. Search warrants will be easier to obtain, and they will be broader in scope. Warrants will be valid for longer periods. The FBI can ask for a warrant requiring any tangible items which can include books, papers, records, documents, etc…(the warrant may be non-specific in nature). This is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment rights of search and seizure.

The Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001 by President George W. Bush. The act expanded the surveillance capability of both domestic law enforcement and international intelligence agencies. When this law was passed it was under the assumption “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes” (The USA Patriot). The Patriot Act has given the government the power to spy on the average American through monitoring phone records and calls, gaining banking and credit information, and even track a person’s internet activity. This is an unbelievable amount of power intelligence agencies wield all under the umbrella of national security. This power has gone too far, is unjustified, unconstitutional, and infringes on the privacy of the

Often our nation sees as a symbol of freedom to the world; however, since the events of 9/11 the U.S congress signed into law the U.S Patriot Act. This legislation extends the power of the government by strengthening its oversight authority over the nation, claiming protection of the national security against potential foreign threats. As an American citizen, I agree with some of the terms and measures adopted under the Patriot Act in which the government needs to intercept, obstruct, and monitor terrorism actions keeping us safe from potential attacks without violating any of our civil rights. However, the act fails to secure American liberties, facilitating and encourages the government to become authoritarian with the pretext idea of national security purpose, exposing millions of Americans lives to serious and potential abuses of corruptions, fraud and discrimination by taking away our freedoms and liberty rights guarantee by the U.S Constitution, assuming that giving politicians authoritarian powers will make America a safer place to live. On the Other hand as a Law abiding citizen I’m not willing to sacrifice and been taking away my constitutional rights in exchange for national security purpose, because if we continue like that, we would be further away from an ideal democracy society, losing confidence and support to our government system that eliminates the American ideal of check and balance power for their own ends.

The USA PATRIOT Act was a law passed six weeks after September 11, 2001, which is in October 26, 2001, created by George W. Bush. USA PATRIOT Act is an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001”. Which is ironic due to the disagreements about the act that can be described as it is unconstitutional. Which are caused by the fact that the government is invading the people’s privacy by going through our phones, history of everything that is electronically, messages, phone logs, etc. without having a legal contract by the government, and going against our natural (unalienable) rights. It also violates the Bill of Rights, however, mostly on the first and fourth amendment.

The Patriot Act was among that of the greatest tragedies to befall our empire. It was our Trojan horse carrying a façade that seemed friendly on the exterior but internally it unleashed upon us a horror; Complete violation of our basic human rights. It revealed to us the true agenda of our government, complete control over us with our permission. It was supposed to protect us from the outside threat of complete annihilation but who’s to say the real threat isn’t on the inside?

The U.S.A. Patriot Act creates significant expanded powers to federal and state law enforcement agencies to fight against terrorism in the United States and abroad. The Act enabled law enforcement agencies to circumvent the Bill of Rights in the fight against terrorism. Law enforcement was now able to; search and seize without probable cause, to detain individuals without a trial, monitor religious and political events without suspecting criminal activity, listen to conversations between lawyers and their clients or deny legal representation to individuals accused of crimes. Although the intent of the Patriot Act was to combat terrorism in the United States and abroad, it is presently being utilized against the citizens of America. Therefore, the Constitutional rights of every American citizen are being violated.

The USA PATRIOT Act violated many American civil rights and carried out many unnecessary searches of innocent Americans. It sacrifices civil liberties for government power.

Shortly after the terrorist attack on the united states on September 11, 2001, president at the time George W. Bush enacted the USA Patriot Act. George bush has been quoted Stating “Terrorism against our nation will not stand” (Jones 2) a message which was hit home by the enactment of the USA Patriot Act. The Patriot Act gives law enforcement agencies increased powers enabling them to apprehend terrorist. The USA Patriot Act was enacted by congress on October 26, 2001, with the idea that it would help a crippled nation combat terrorism. The act of terrorism which is described as the act of using violence to gain political ground. According to James A. Morone author of the text “By the People Debating American Government” “The USA Patriot Act gave police and security personnel far more latitude to monitor, search, and detain suspects both abroad and at home” (Morone 683). The USA Patriot Act forfeits certain constitutional rights afforded by the constitution in an attempt of keeping the United States free of terrorism, On may 26, 2011 current president Barack Obama signed the Patriot Sunset extension act of 2011. The Patriot Sunset Extension Act of 2011 is a four year extension of three important provisions of the USA Patriot Act which has proved effective when combating terrorism. The extension extended the three of the most controversial aspects of the Patriot Act. Wiretaps, searches of public records and the conduction of surveillance of individuals suspected of

So, a bill that almost 40 years ago which clearly stipulated that it could only be used for monitoring foreign agents has been made available to non-intelligence agencies that were not the subjects of the original bill to conduct more intrusive surveillance. Specifically, with the PATRIOT Act, law enforcement could now use the FISA Act as a precursor to obtain private information from “banks, businesses, credit companies, Internet providers, and others about U.S. citizens without a showing of probable cause” (Baker 15). This obviously were not part of the original FISA Act, because the original FISA Act pertained to foreign nationals and spies in the United States, not American citizens. More importantly however this amendment to the FISA Act that gives the government the opportunity to obtain private information without probable cause is in strong violation of Fourth Amendment which stipulates that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause” (US. Const. amend. IV), because now the government doesn’t need probable cause anymore to conduct surveillance or gather private information.

“America needs the Patriot Act because it helps prevent terrorism while posing little risk to civil liberties. The law simply lets counterterrorism agents use tools that police officers have used for decades. And it contains elaborate safeguards against

The USA Patriot Act of 2001 is a controversial public policy, which greatly undermines the civil liberties and constitutional freedom of the American people. This essay will moved from an overview of the USA Patriot Act to a review of the critical literature regarding the importance of the Act to the safety of Americans and shows how the Act violates the civil rights and liberties of citizens and noncitizens alike. After presenting sufficient evidence that the Patriot Act violates many of the basic principles that have been articulated in the U.S. Constitution, particularly within the Bill of Rights, I will, propose recommendations that if implemented scrupulously could help to restore American confidence in government's determination to