Student Post # 5

Veronica Salinas  

U.S Patriot Act

          The U.S. Patriot Act was passed after the 9/11 attacks, which would improve the collection of information by federal agencies and give new powers to domestic and traditional law enforcement (Taylor & Swanson, 2019). The authors add that the first Patriot Bill was signed into power by then-President George W Bush on October 26, 2001. The act aimed to prevent terrorism against the United States by combating terrorism and tracing money that funds terrorist groups.  The most significant part of the Patriot Act was the expansion of traditional tools of surveillance mused by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, plus a reduction in checks and balances (Taylor & Swanson, 2019).  Since its creation, the Patriot Act has been reauthorized thrice, each of which would add more provisions that would improve the United States law enforcement abilities to deter terrorism and conduct surveillance on Americans without regard to whether they committed any misdeeds. With these reauthorizations comes the question of whether some of the provisions in the Patriots Act violate some of the amendments under the U.S. Constitution.

Constitutional Concerns

       The main provisions of the USA Patriot Act grant law enforcement and intelligence authority broad powers (Matz, 2018). These powers include expanded autorotate to conduct secret searches, monitor phone and internet usage, deport non-citizens, and even access financial records. Despite the broad powers granted by the USA Patriot Act, many have raised concerns about the constitutional implications of the legislation; as the Act removes some of the traditional checks and balances on government surveillance, civil liberties groups argue that the act compromises the privacy and liberties of individuals (Kosseff, 2022). Additionally, many have called into question the constitutional nature of the act itself, asserting that it violates the First, fourth, and Fifth Amendments of the U. S constitution. Critics also worry that the Patriot Act gives law enforcement and intelligence agencies too much power and discretion to investigate Americans without proper safeguards or due process. Furthermore, these provisions give the government too much latitude to intrude on the privacy of innocent citizens and unjustly target individuals who have not been charged with any original intention and are used to target and investigate activities unrelated to terrorism (Etzioni, 2015).

       The creation of the U.S. Patriot Act was met with some concerns due to the included provisions. The first amendment to the U.S constitution allows us to have the right to freedom of speech, press, assembly, right to petition, and religion (Kosseff, 2022). However, libertarians have argued that the U.S Patriot Act has seriously limited free speech because specific clauses prohibit demonstrating any support towards terrorist groups and providing them any property. However, some groups feel free speech is limited because law enforcement is quick to tie to terrorism, even if it has nothing to do with such a topic. This restriction means that individuals are now limited in what they speak and how they express it to others. In addition, the freedom of religion included in the first amendment is also tested under the Patriot Act.  Now it seems that the government is targeting Muslims and investigating the infringes on their right to practice religion (Taylor & Swanson, 2019). The United States began to put more interest in individuals of Muslim descent due to the 9/11 attacks, as many of those individuals could easily be a member of a terrorist group sent to the US to carry out an attack. While not all Muslims are related to terrorism, it takes away the freedom from those who are innocent and come to this country for a better life.  The fourth amendment protects one from illegal search and seizures by law enforcement (Futo, 2019). Under the original Patriots Act, law enforcement did not need probable cause or reasonable suspicion to obtain third-party records or conduct searches and seizures. This violated the fourth amendment, which protects one from illegal search and seizure, yet the government did not see it that way and believed it was necessary to help prevent terrorism. One of the most controversial is the power to arrest and hold any alien, defined by the attorney general as a suspected terrorist (Marcus et al., 2013).  The attorney general can open proceedings to remove aliens from the United States or have them face criminal charges.  The authors add that critics argue this violates the due process clause of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments regarding the speed and fair trials concepts. 

Conclusion                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The USA Patriot Act was passed after the 9/11 attacks by then-President George W Bush, which would give law enforcement new powers to help combat terrorism but also prevent terrorist attacks from occurring in the country. Even though the act was meant to deter terrorism, it has been called into question whether some provisions violate the Constitution. Many have argued that the First, fourth, fifth, and Sixth amendment have all been violated in one form or another. as the freedom of speech is no longer accessible, the not protection of illegal search and seizures by law enforcement, or the right to a speedy trial and invoked in the fifth and sixth amendment. “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work” ( King James Bible, 2013/20167, Titus 3:1). God implies that we shall be obedient to all laws, and we shall listen to what the government tells us to do. James 2:10 implies that whoever stumbles at one point of the law is guilty of breaking it all. God also means that one shall not break the law, which is clearly what the government is doing, by violating certain rights protected under the U.S constitution.