Previous Topic (6/27): The PATRIOT Act

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, 1759

What is the Patriot Act?

The USA Patriot Act was enacted on October 26, 2001 as a reaction to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Many lawmakers felt the need to take aggressive action after September 11, and the Bush administration provided them a way to do that: the USA Patriot Act. The USA PATRIOT Act is actually an acronym. It stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism." The 300 page act was written by Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh, kept unavailable to congress members for some time, and passed in two days while Washington, DC was dealing with the anthrax attack. Many congress members had no time to read the act before voting.

What does it do?

The Patriot Act was intended to expand the government's authority to wiretap and use other forms of surveillance, allow more information to be shared between FBI and CIA, and provide funding for terror investigations. It allows law enforcement agencies to access medical records, library records, student records, bank records, diaries, information on membership in organizations (including religious organizations), and even genetic information without a warrant and without probable cause. The Act also allows non-citizens to be detained indefinitely or deported without judicial appeal and often without access to legal counsel. It's a law that is stated as being in our best interests, but it gives the government sweeping powers while restricting our ability to keep an eye on the government.

Why should I care?

So far, four states and 320 cities and counties have been concerned enough to pass resolutions to protect their citizens from civil liberties violations that can come from the Patriot Act (for a complete list, visit http://www.bordc.org/Chronology.pdf). One of the biggest concerns about the Patriot Act is that it violates the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights, the right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures (to read the Bill of Rights, go here.).

It doesn't just affect immigrants either. The law defines "terrorism" as "activities that involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State." This definition of "terrorism" is incredibly vague; by this definition just knowing someone who has been engaged in these acts (whether you are aware of their actions or not) could subject you to surveillance or more. Average Americans who have voiced concern over this administration in public places have been subjected to questioning by the FBI.

Ultimately, the Patriot Act gives unchecked power to the Executive Branch of the government. That's unconstitutional. The constitution sets up the government so that it's run with check and balances of power-the legislative and judicial branches should have equal power to that of the executive. Under the Patriot Act, that doesn't happen. Take the case of alleged dirty bomber Jose Padilla. He has been held for two years as an "enemy combatant" with no charges filed against him; for at least a year and a half he had no access to a lawyer. Intelligence officials openly discredited Abu Zubaydah, the Al-Qaeda chief of operations that implicated Padilla; even Viet Dinh, the guy who wrote the Patriot Act, said the administration's imprisonment of Padilla was "unsustainable." Jose Padilla is a US Citizen. His internment is proof of unchecked executive power-a US Citizen that has been detained is guaranteed the right to a speedy trial by the Sixth Amendment and guaranteed due process and the right to counsel in his defense by the Fifth Amendment. Padilla wasn't allowed these things. That's unchecked executive power, and it runs counter to the Constitution. Remember learning about the Revolutionary War? We created our own country to escape unchecked executive power.

Patriot II

The Domestic Security Enhancement Act, also known as Patriot II, takes the Patriot Act several steps further. The government would no longer be required to disclose the identity of anyone detained in connection with a terror investigation until charges are filed, even if that person is a US citizen. Credit and library records could be obtained without a warrant. Local police would be allowed to spy on political and religious activities. It would be legal for lawful immigrants to be removed without a deportation hearing and without review by federal courts. Patriot II is designed to further erode the system of checks and balances, to give the executive branch more power and more secrecy. The American Civil Liberties Union states "Patriot Act 2 is fundamentally flawed because it relies on a false premise - that America can be safer if we do away with basic checks and balances. By undermining the role of the courts, Congress and the press in providing a real check on executive power, Patriot Act 2 directs its ire at the institutions of our democracy instead of at the terrorists that threaten it. In so doing, it threatens to undermine the rights of ordinary people and, ironically, the war against terrorism."

A sister act to the USA PATRIOT Act, the VICTORY Act is also in the works. Legislation is pending in Congress. The Victory Act (another acronym--though the "y" doesn't stand for anything--Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act) would make several provisions of the Patriot Act permanent (many provisions were supposed to end in 2005) and would combine the War on Terror with the War on Drugs; such a result would potentially classify even minor drug convictions as "terrorism." It would also allow the Attorney General to "determine that a U.S. citizen has effectively renounced his or her citizenship through acts that in the Attorney General's view would imply a renunciation." Currently, the only way for a US citizen to renounce citizenship is through an unambiguous declaration of renunciation. Once again taking the example of Jose Padilla, the Attorney General would like to say that his plot was an act that implied renunciation of his citizenship, making the case that he's an "enemy combatant" easier to prove. The Attorney General's ability to pick and choose who's citizen is renounced based on "acts" would be another example of unchecked power-what branch has the ability to stop him from removing someone's citizenship?

Where can I find out more?

Oh my lord, there is a lot about the Patriot Act on the internet, and more comes each day. This is just a brief list of useful information.

The ACLU has a great page that goes into further detail about the USA PATRIOT Act and Patriot II, with sections on taking action, links to articles, and even a section about conservatives who have spoken out against the act.

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Also relating to the ACLU, this article talks about their lawsuit regarding the Patriot Act.

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The Bill of Rights Defense Committee has an excellent site that provides an in-depth FAQ, tools for community members to pass local resolutions against the USA Patriot Act, and other useful information.

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The Sacramento Bee did a four-part series in September 2003 that discusses the Patriot Act and its consequences to civil liberties.

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The University of Texas at Arlington has a site that provides a brief overview and discusses how the Patriot Act may affect those who use email and libraries.

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This article from the Village Voice discusses the unpopularity of the Patriot Act, as well as an admission from a member of the Justice Department that they are "losing the fight for the Patriot Act."

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Read an interview with Viet Dinh about the Patriot Act here:

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