Patriot Act Pros And Cons
The attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001 saw the largest loss of life of US civilians, in the US, from an outside enemy. As a result of the attacks, President Bush declared a “Global War on Terror.” To prevent another terror attack, Congress felt it must provide additional powers to US law enforcement and intelligence agencies. In 2001, Congress passed the United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept or Obstruct Terrorism Acts of 2001, or colloquially referred to as the PATRIOT Act. While many will argue the PATRIOT Act is helpful in combating terrorism, critics argue it infringes on the 4th Amendment rights of US citizens. The PATRIOT Act significantly increased the powers of law
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The PATRIOT Act increased the abilities of law enforcement and intelligence agencies mainly by deconstruction FISA. FISA, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, created strict standards on foreign intelligence collection, as well as criminal investigations. One of the main criticisms of FISA is that it created an environment where US agencies were not cooperating, allowing Al Qaeda to successfully attack the US. Mainly, intelligence agencies, such as the NSA or CIA, would not share their foreign-gather intelligence with law enforcement, such as the FBI or Border Patrol. Conversely, evidence gathered on foreign nationals by the FBI was not shared with intelligence agencies, as it was deemed criminal evidence. The PATRIOT Act While the PATRIOT Act still respected a US citizen’s First Amendment rights, US citizens were deemed eligible for surveillance under a FISA warrant. Other big impacts of the PATRIOT Act allows the US to conduct roving wiretaps, so an individual can be monitored despite changing location or hardware. The PATRIOT Act also allows the federal government to gather a wide swath of information related to US citizens without a warrant, including things like library or phone
The PATRIOT Act increased the abilities of law enforcement and intelligence agencies mainly by deconstruction FISA. FISA, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, created strict standards on foreign intelligence collection, as well as criminal investigations. One of the main criticisms of FISA is that it created an environment where US agencies were not cooperating, allowing Al Qaeda to successfully attack the US. Mainly, intelligence agencies, such as the NSA or CIA, would not share their foreign-gather intelligence with law enforcement, such as the FBI or Border Patrol. Conversely, evidence gathered on foreign nationals by the FBI was not shared with intelligence agencies, as it was deemed criminal evidence. The PATRIOT Act While the PATRIOT Act still respected a US citizen’s First Amendment rights, US citizens were deemed eligible for surveillance under a FISA warrant. Other big impacts of the PATRIOT Act allows the US to conduct roving wiretaps, so an individual can be monitored despite changing location or hardware. The PATRIOT Act also allows the federal government to gather a wide swath of information related to US citizens without a warrant, including things like library or phone