...DHS & the Patriot Act CJ-355- Homeland Security Professor Anderson By Jimmy Ortega 4/29/14 The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks led to the forming of the Department of Homeland Security and the Patriot Act, which was a law passed just six weeks after the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were hit. This Act was passed by the Senate the by a vote of 98-1(Sensenbrenner, 2001). The Bush Administration considered this Act a form of "anti-terrorism weapon." It’s sad that it took our country to experience such a tragic act of terror to do something about our nation’s security. However, with everything that the Bush administration tried to do to help secure and tighten up our nation’s security while critics consider this Act unconstitutional and a violation of our rights. In addition, some felt that their privacy was being invaded and soon coming to an end. But also many others like me consider this Act reasonable due to the safety it would bring the citizens because many lives are threatened here in America. This paper will scrutinize and focus on the positive as well as some of the negative arguments that have been brought up when analyzing the Patriot Act. The Patriot Acts goals are to strengthen domestic security and broaden the powers of law-enforcement agencies with regards to identifying and stopping terrorists (Doyle, 2002) and enforced by the Department of Homeland Security. The Act also gives federal officials greater authority to track and intercept communications...
Words: 711 - Pages: 3
...USA PATRIOT ACT OF 2001 The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 is a 342-page, sprawling piece of legislation that contains more than 150 sections and amends more than 15 federal laws. The law's full name is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, hence the acronym USA PATRIOT Act. It deals primarily with combating terrorism and gives the executive branch of the federal government more tools to fight suspected terrorist activity, but it also aroused the anger of civil libertarians. Critics of the act have charged that the government gained the power to investigate and detain persons with little oversight from the courts. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, U.S. political leaders sought to address terrorism with new vigor. President George w. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft presented Congress with proposed legislation on September 17, 2001, that focused on intelligence gathering, immigration, criminal justice, and money laundering. The administration sought new powers to conduct searches of people suspected of terrorism; to detain and deport persons suspected of terrorist involvement; and to remove statutes of limitations on terrorism. In addition, the administration wanted the justice department to have the power to place wiretaps on the phones and computers of anyone suspected of terrorism. This initial proposal became the framework for the USA PATRIOT Act, which...
Words: 4564 - Pages: 19
...The Patriot act was created due to a world crisis that happened in September 11, 2001 when terrorist invaded the United States of America and hijacked a couple of planes for the purpose to crash them in important places where they would get as many people as possible. One being the Twin towers or also known as the World Trade Center and also the pentagon which was not achieved due that some heroic civilians in the plane that decided to fight for their lives and the lives of others. Four passenger airliners were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists so they could be flown into buildings in suicide attacks. Two of those planes,American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center Complex in New York City. Within two hours, both towers collapsed with debris and the resulting fires causing partial or complete collapse of all other buildings in the WTC complex, as well as significant damage to ten other large surrounding structures. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon leading to a partial collapse in its western side. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was targeted at Washington, D.C. but crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after its passengers tried to overcome the hijackers. In total, almost 3,000 people died in the attacks, including the 227 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes. It also was the deadliest incident for...
Words: 2859 - Pages: 12
...policy implementation phase, which is where the public policies that are adopted in the previous stage are put into operation. The fifth and final stage is the policy evaluation stage where the policy goes through an evaluation stage (effectiveness, efficiency, adequacy, and equity). The USA Patriot Act is just one of many polices that have been passed by our government that has caused great controversy amongst the people. The USA Patriot Act is an act that was signed on October 26, 2011 by former president George W. Bush (George W. Bush Signs the Patriot Act). USA Patriot is an acronym that stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA Patriot Act). This act came in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks that left America pushing for our government to do that would prevent future terrorist attacks on our nation. The primary author of this bill was Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh and was introduced to Congress by Republican Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (Grabianowski). The main goal of the Patriot Act is to prevent, deter and eventually punish any terrorist, including domestic, acts not only in the United States but...
Words: 1911 - Pages: 8
...Introduction The Patriot act in my opinion has served the United States a great justice in many unique ways. There are so many aspects to this act. These aspects stretch as far as, why it came about, and what is the biggest protest towards it? The combination of all these aspects gave me the interest to write on it. There were a few things that made this Act stand out but the determining factor was simply that it dealt with controlling terrorist acts. After September 11, 2001 I always had a little fear inside, and always thought what our country is going to do to make sure this does not happen again. I have always had a great interest on how the United States protects itself from these terrorist acts of violence and felt understanding the Patriot Act should give me a clearer picture on how our system truly works. Throughout the next couple of pages I will use various researched information to provide the reader a clear insightful view of the Patriot Act through my perspective. I will focus mainly on Act titles that I feel are the most important, along with a brief overview of these titles, I will also provide some background information, controversial issues, alternatives, and some of my own recommendations on how to improve the Patriot Act. Lastly, like many other Acts or laws there have been many changes and amendments to the Patriot Act over the last several years, this being said I will also supply the reader with an update on the Act’s current status...
Words: 2934 - Pages: 12
...The events of September 11th, 2001 potentially changed the legal structure of the United States. Following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the President and Congress saw fit to protect the United States by passing a bill called the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act significantly expanded the powers of law enforcement by allowing law enforcement and intelligence agencies to use types of electronic surveillance that were previously only allowed with legal warrants (Ibid, 2001). Additionally, the Patriot Act allows government agencies to detain suspected terrorists for unspecified lengths of time in order to investigate their activities (Ibid, 2001). The detainment of terrorist suspects does not allow these individuals access to an attorney, a trial, or any other guarantee promised in the Constitution. The United States legal and judicial systems utilize a network of checks and balances to ensure that the rights of citizens, as enumerated by the United States Constitution, are not violated. These systems call for crime investigation to require a warrant issued by the judicial branch in order to execute any search or seizure of personal property, as declared by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution (Madison, 1789). The framers of the United States started the Constitution with a Bill of Rights that set our inalienable rights. These rights are not allowed to be violated and the legal system is designed to protect these rights, even if...
Words: 2363 - Pages: 10
...The Patriot Act and Individual Privacy English Composition II 25 November 2012 The Patriot Act and Individual Privacy Over the last ten years, the Gallup’s poll has shown a trending decline in the tolerance for the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act). Citizens are becoming more protective of their civil liberties than they were immediately following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Many U.S. citizens feel that the USA PATRIOT Act gives federal authorities excessive power and violates the protection provided to U.S. citizens by the U.S. Constitution. In the Bill of Rights, the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures…" (U.S. Constitution. Amend. IV). The USA PATRIOT Act is believed to infringe upon U.S. citizen’s civil liberties by granting federal authorities liberal room to work around the Bill of Rights. John McKay, former United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington stated that “the Patriot Act simply permits use of this longstanding tool in cases involving terrorism” (2005). In fact, these same liberal laws that make up the USA PATRIOT Act have been used to combat organized crime and drug dealers for many years. Suspected terrorist should fall into this same category and should not...
Words: 791 - Pages: 4
...In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, Congress passed and President Bush signed into law the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. This Act is more commonly referred to as the PATROIT Act. The goal of the PATRIOT Act is to increase the Federal government’s wiretap and surveillance authority, remove barriers between the CIA and FBI information sharing and provide more tools to finance terrorism investigations. Major provisions that comprise the PATROIT Act easing the limitations on information that can be shared among the various U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officers about possible terrorists. A provision of this Act authorizes the use of roving wiretaps which permits any law enforcement officials to get a court order to wiretap any phone that a suspected terrorist would use. Another principle feature of the Act is the government’s ability to detain non U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism for up to seven days without specific charges. (Wallace, 2003) There is tremendous controversy surrounding the Patriot Act , since it was passed so quickly it was not clear cut what new tools were needed to fight terrorism and how individual liberties may be comprised. This law was created with lot of guesswork which makes it possible that Congress and the administration guess better in some areas then in others. No evidence has been found to suggest that any of provisions of the...
Words: 2361 - Pages: 10
...The Patriot Act Philosophers have helped us understand the establishment of governments and the authority of state over the individual. In this world there needs to be rules established and certain freedoms giving up for the exchange for protection and security. This is known as the social contract theory, which was originally founded by Plato. But such ideas has been expanded and taken one step further by many philosophers. This idea of a social contract is one of our most essential foundations of our American political system. The debate of how much of our liberties needs to be taken away to ensure our security has been a long lasting one. One of our most iconic founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, said, “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” When we give governments power, they will use them for their own self-interest and when needed for their preservation. In the last decades there have been many technologic advances and our government need to adapt to these changes. The Patriot Act was but into law because our congress believed it was the right course of action to protect our nation’s security. Nonetheless, The Patriot Act undermines one of our most fundamental civil liberties and questions the integrity of our American democracy. Six weeks after September 11, 2001 congress passed a new law named, The Patriot Act (The Uniting and Strengthening America by Proving Appropriate Tools Required...
Words: 2421 - Pages: 10
...U.S.A. Patriot ACT (Traylyn Redman) September the 11th 200l is a day that we all know well and remember for the rest of our lives. It is a day that will down in U.S. history as one of the most historic and tragic events in our history. One response enlighten of these events that was put in place was the USA PATRIOT ACT. The reason why the USA PARTIOT ACT was signed is mainly because of poor intelligence that the U.S. has had prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In addition to have a plan and reanalyze our intelligence we can make sure this attack would never happen again on American soil. The patriot act is a critical and historical event in itself. The act was put into place very quickly after 9/11. The government and President Bush had seen the U.S. as a whole was a strong country but still had weaknesses and were vulnerable to attacks without taking swift action. The act was signed on October 26, 2001, just one month after the 9/11 attacks. The patriot act was put in place for many reasons and has been a benefit and various ways. There has still been criticism and skepticism of the act in just the short term of the act being signed. The act of information sharing is one factor that the critics argue. The critics argument that this information would get into the wrong hands or be used by other agencies for unrelated or wrong reasons. The act would permit wiretaps on terrorist or even any potential terror threat over more than one jurisdiction. This would make sense...
Words: 955 - Pages: 4
...The USA PATRIOT Act, or the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, is a basically an anti-terrorism law that was rather hastily passed as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks. It primarily aims at deterring and punishing acts of terrorism committed in the United States and elsewhere (USA PATRIOT Act, n.d.). However, while it appears to have noble aims of safeguarding American lives and property, the act needs to be repealed or, if not, amended so that the privacy freedoms of citizens are not trampled upon. The USA PATRIOT Act also aims at expanding the investigatory tools of law enforcement and, as well, give authorities from the executive branch more teeth against money laundering and terrorism financing and criminal abuse of financial institutions (USA PATRIOT Act, n.d.). As part of its broadening of law enforcement agencies' investigative powers, the law increased same agencies' surveillance powers, rendering amendments to the Wiretap Statue, Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Study guide, n.d.). This means that the government is allowed to considerably obtain even personal information about its citizens and detain aliens even without publicly acknowledging such (Mayeux, 2003-2004). In more lay person's terms, the Patriot Act seeks to accomplish its anti-terrorist objective by allowing government to wiretap more, Internet activities...
Words: 679 - Pages: 3
...The USA Patriot Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2001 to address the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The general rationale of the Patriot Act is to streamline communications between the different agencies that work together while investigating terrorist activity. The heart of the Patriot Act has American safety at its core and the American people did not have much to say against the act at first. However, as time wore on and people felt distance to the horrific and shocking attack on the country, they began to question the heightened surveillance and seeming lack of accountability for the invasion of privacy that is against the basic principles of freedom advocated by the United States Constitution. The underlying...
Words: 305 - Pages: 2
...Writing Assignment The USA Patriot Act The USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001) was signed into law by President George W. Bush October 26, 2001. The USA Patriot act was passed nearly unanimously by the senate 98-1, and 357-66 in the House. It was written in response to 9/11 terrorist attack. The USA Patriot act improves Counter-Terrorism Efforts in several ways. It allows investigators to use tools that were earlier only in use of investigators of organized crime and drug trafficking. The Patriot Act made cooperation easier between government agencies, and by cooperation of the agencies it’s easier to protect people and national security. Because of the Patriot Act the technology was updated to latest possible. With Latest technology investigators have better chances to react to threats fast or even in advance, before any terrorist activities. With The Patriot Act Penalties were increased for those who commit terrorist crimes. Increased penalties concern everyone who supports or commits terrorist crimes, both home and abroad. Without the Patriot Act it could have been difficult or even impossible to prevent terrorist attacks like 9/11 happening again. The authorities that Congress provided to different agencies have helped to prevent, investigate and, prosecute acts of terror. The goal of Patriot act is to prevent future terrorist attacks and that has also effect...
Words: 372 - Pages: 2
...The Patriot Act After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the country was in a state a mass hysteria. As a result, the United States Congress passed the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” Act, or known simply as The Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was created with the objective of locating and arresting terrorists working on American soil in order to prevent another major attack from happening. The only way to do this was for the Patriot Act to allow for the unconstitutional surveillance of Americans citizens. As a result, the Patriot Act is an infringement on basic American ideals and freedoms. The first infringement of citizens’ rights is Section 213. Section 213, also known as the “sneak and peek” section, violates the Fourth Amendment by allowing law enforcement to enter a person’s house or apartment, search through their things, and even seize their property while they were gone without having to tell them first. The Fourth Amendment was intended to protect people from any unreasonable searches and seizures, and also requires the...
Words: 920 - Pages: 4
...The USA PATRIOT ACT, commonly known as the Patriot Act, is an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate tools required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. On October 23, 2001, Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner introduced H.R. 3162 incorporating provisions from a previously sponsored House bill and a Senate bill also introduced earlier in the month. The next day on October 24, 2001, the Act passed the House 357 to 66, with Democrats comprising the overwhelming portion of dissent. The following day on October 25, 2001, the Act passed the Senate by 98 to 1, with Russ Feingold the only opposition. This act was signed then into law by former president George W. Bush on October 26, 2011, just six weeks after the September 11th attacks to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This act reduced restrictions in law enforcement agencies’ gathering of intelligence with the U.S. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism. The Patriot Act made many changes to U.S. law, such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA), the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), as well as the Immigration and Nationality Act. It was strongly opposed by Senator, Russ Feingold; he was the only Senator to vote against the bill. The final Act had a number of sunsets that was supposed to expire on December 15, 2005. On May 26, 2011, President...
Words: 2019 - Pages: 9
