The Usa Patriot Act Abuses

RES/110

The USA Patriot Act abuses

The Patriot Act of 2001 violates the private citizen’s rights by violating the guaranteed privileges granted in the US Constitution. The American people have the right to privacy and this Act throws all aspects of that privacy out the window. No longer, can American Citizens or even those outside the United States borders, be certain that their personal information is theirs and theirs alone if the government deems it necessary to their cause.

The USA Patriot Act was enacted in October 2001 after the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001. The Act was passed by Congress and signed into law for the stated purpose of fighting terrorism in the United States by expanding the powers of law enforcement agencies to help counter the threat of terrorist attacks. The USA Patriot Act is an acronym that stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001" This law made a number of key changes to previous laws that dealt with banking, communications, surveillance and immigration. There have been several legal battles over the use of this law and some Federal Courts have ruled that it infringes upon the rights of the people.

The Patriot Act violates the Fourth Amendment in both intent and facts. The government and police are been given full access to all public and private information from various sources such as libraries, internet, phones, checking and savings accounts, patient records and many other types of personal records. Many U.S citizens believe they have no rights protecting their privacy due to this. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution conveys that the government needs to contact an individual before the government before they can look at any of the information that can be incriminating. The Fourth Amendment also requires a warrant to search and seize any info or belongings. This right will become null and void if the government uses the Patriot Act to determine that the individual is a terrorist. The government also does not need a search and seizure warrant to get the information. They also do not have to have probable cause to search records of any sort. Section 215 also was designed to reduce the privacy rights of citizens and increase security of the nation. The act threatens civil liberties of its citizens and promotes the belief that the United States is becoming a police state, instead of being active supporters of human rights. Section 215 is one of the most dangerous and misguided sections of the Patriot act. It almost guarantees that the citizens have no privacy; they can be spied on at any time or day.

Since 1950s the FBI has abused its authority by not properly following the procedures that have been set in place to protect U.S. citizens. The Patriot Act has allowed the agency greater leeway that what was set forth in their charter and by what is allowed by the laws governing the United States. (Need Examples).

To clarify a few points on how the Patriot Act affects all the citizens no matter whom they might be. The first point to clarify is how the Patriot Act is compromising the rights of American citizens in any kind of business. The Government has the authority to use and exercise what is known as a National Security Letter. This letter is used to obtain any records, as it relates to business that a citizen conducts be it personal or public knowledge.

Another price that American citizens pay because of the Patriot Act is in the form of civil liberties and student privacy rights. As stated in the previous paragraph, with specific provisions in place, persons ordered to business records are not permitted to contact an attorney or seek protection of the courts as this is deemed in the interest of National Security. The Patriot Act gives free reign to federal officials to use the act and then rely on the courts to uphold the legitimacy of the actions taken by the same officials.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which bars any educational institution receiving federal funds, from releasing a student’s records without his or her permission, or parental permission of all students under the age of 18, protect student privacy rights. This helps ensure the privacy of a student and his or her financial or social wellbeing.

The Department of Homeland Security, which turned 5 years old the first of this month, has requested another $50 billion for the coming budget year, but it's not clear the money will be well-spent or make the American public more secure. The proposed $50.5 billion budget is a nearly 9% increase over the $46.4 billion fiscal 2008 budget, which had been about 9% higher than the $42.7 billion fiscal '07 budget. The department's first budget, in 2003, was $33.7 billion. (Pena, 2007)

Finally, the fine print The Patriot Act has provisions to allow the Treasury Department to demand more information from banks about their customers’ financial transactions. Congress wanted to help the Feds identify terrorist and money launderers. But the Treasury took this a step further. It issued regulations to further investigate odd transaction patterns broadening the scope of the power granted to them from the Bank Secrecy Act passed in the 1970s. This opened the door to catching Governor Spitzer of New York in a scandal that was detrimental to his career. Considering the resources that are intended to be used for catching terrorists is now being used to catch corruption in government or political realm.

The Patriot Act has brought on many debates, but it has helped the war on terror. It has helped cover areas that the law before could not have access to so easily. All bodies of the government are able to share knowledge to better prevent terrorist attacks (Bush, 2004). It has let the FBI and CIA share knowledge, and combined forces. It has saved time and effort. The Patriot Act helped do that.

Before September 11, drug dealers and murders would face harsher punishments than terrorists would. Some terrorists have been set free, but the Patriot Act has changed that. Terrorist-related crimes are not eligible for bail. Terrorists-related crimes can now face capital punishment due to the Act. Criminal laws against terrorism have been enforced, especially the laws on those who economically support the war. The Patriot Act has helped capture an individual who was trying to set up an Al Qaeda terrorist training camp in Portland, Oregon (Fisher, 2004). “The Patriot Act broadens the law to include internet taps, which now require a court order. Thus the Act creates privacy protection for the internet while also giving law enforcement a tool to trace terrorist activities”