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The Patriot Act
As the nation watched in horror the atrocities of September 11th, Nassim Benamara watched his future slip away from him.
" I was very worried, because I was supposed to start school a week later in Boston, and I did not know if I could still come to Boston," he said.
Two weeks later, he boarded a plane from Algiers, Algeria, with his twin brother Saleem, to attend school here.
Three years later, Saleem and Nassim have still not made it back to their home country. “We hear a lot of stories of international students who go home for vacation, and when they come back they are not let back into the country. We do not want to risk this, so we don't go home ever," Saleem said.
Such stories are the result of the unpopular Patriot Act, which was passed on October 26th, 2001, just a few weeks after the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. President Bush then declared that the act was necessary, to make sure that every so-called “international student” was in fact attending school.
Among the components of the act, the Patriot Act greatly restrains international students in their rights. All their medical, library and school files are available to various agencies, including the CIA, FBI and INS.
The school files are part of an online database accessible only to those three agencies, named "SEVIS," or "Student and Exchange Visitor Information System".
All schools in the United States with foreign students had to turn over those files by August of last year, or risk a penalty.
With just a click of the button, anyone at the INS can find out the student's grades, classes, the address, and much more.
Many organizations, such as the ACLU, were quick to denounce the Patriot Act, and the SEVIS registration, as un-democratic.
Yet, in this era of terrorism, safety can come at a high risk, David Chanderlain said.
As the head of the International Student Office at Northeastern University, it is his job to make sure that all international students are up to date with the new SEVIS forms, that they're taking enough classes, and much more.
"Many people don't agree with the Patriot Act, but right now it's necessary," he said. Salim and Nassem agreed with him. "I don't like to have my home searched, I don't like to be treated like a terrorist, but I understand why they do it. It is for my safety too, and there is not much I can do.
The USA Patriot Act is very important to everyone in the United States of America. There are many people that are anti-patriot act because they feel it infringes on there constitutional rights. At the same time, there are enormous amounts of people that are pro-patriot act putting the safety of the home front as their number one priority. This act was very instrumental in giving our intelligence agencies the tools necessary to intercept terrorist messages and fore warn us of any possible attacks
The Patriot Act In the wake of September 11, many things happened very quickly. Along with the beginning of a '"'war'"' against terrorism, an act was passed to help prevent future terrorism in the USA. The name of this is the USA Patriot Act. The act legalizes many surveillance techniques that were once prohibited. The act has been passed without debate, and the new privileges given to our government have not been thoroughly examined. The law enforcers of our country are now capable of monitoring
The “Patriot Act” In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress sprang into action. Within a month, U.S. lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the USA Patriot Act of 2001, giving law enforcement and intelligence agent’s broader authority to fight terrorists operating in the United States. Signed into law by the President on October 26, the Patriot Act is designed to fight terrorism on several fronts. First, it gives the U.S. government authority to hold foreigners suspected of
The Patriot Act Protects America Since September 11, 2001 many people can say that America has changed. Many people question if America has changed for the better or has it just gotten worse. Since the day those four planes crashed around the United States people’s lives have been changed. Many may not realize how their lives have changed, but with new laws passed life is different within America. The United States Patriot Act is one of the laws passed after 9/11: singed into order on October
USA Patriot Act After the devastating attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, this country scrambled to take action to provide future protection. New techniques had to be developed to protect the nation from the menace of terrorism. Along with the new techniques came the decision to enact laws that some believed crossed the threshold of violating civil liberties this county and those living in it were guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. “On October 26, 2001, the Public
The Patriot Act The Patriot Act was signed into law by President George Bush on the 26th October 2001. The act is an Act of congress whose title is a ten letter acronym which stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” (USA PATRIOT Act 2001). The Act was enacted 45 days following the September 11 attacks. The September 11 attacks on the world trade center in New York catalyzed the enactment of a legislation that would
imminent. To ease these fears, lawmakers created the USA Patriot Act which stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. This lengthy bill allows the justice department a great deal of power in criminal cases especially in those dealing with terrorism. While, according to lawmakers, the Patriot Act is aimed at ending terrorism, it is arguable that the Patriot Act is aimed at beginning a Big Brother-type society. For the
possible. In 2001, shortly after the attack on September 11, the George W. Bush administration drafted legislation designed to prevent future terrorist attacks; however, controversy broke out concerning people’s rights to privacy. In effect, The Patriot Act was passed to support the public’s demand to combat terrorism in the wake of 9/11 and resulted in the expansion of the surveillance of federal law-enforcement, and controversy regarding the violation of basic constitutional rights. On September
After the horrific incident on September 9, 2001, the Patriot Act was passed to help “reduce” terrorist attacks, but they have only restricted us from our rights and feeling free. Regardless of whether we have anything to hide, we deserve to feel comfortable in our own homes. They can even hack into our TVs and cameras! This is unacceptable! We have been dealing with the violation of our privacy due the Patriot Act, but this act led to the abuse of governments’ power, violation of our natural rights
The Patriot Act has been under scrutiny and opposition since its creation following 9/11. When 9/11 struck it was clear that Americas intelligence was lacking in some specific way, but it was translated that America needed greater allowance for gathering information. The Patriot Act was signed on October 26, 2001, very close to 9/11. It can be concluded that the Patriot Act was signed with such extreme ability’s applied, because of how close it was signed after 9/11. The Act Greatly expands the
Abstract This paper discusses the history of the Patriot Act and the environment that led to its adoption. The Patriot Act was initially developed in order to prevent and obstruct terrorism threats and attacks on the nation. Under the Patriot, there are several provisions granting law enforcement and investigators greater power when conducting an investigation. Provisions such as surveillance, roving wiretaps, subpoena to access both physical and electronic intelligence, while not informing
Under the US Patriot Act, or Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism, I believe citizens have only been put in danger. The Patriot Act was created to keep terrorism at bay and to launch The United States of America forward. However, it has done nothing but set us back. How can we live in a country where everyone is a suspected criminal? I believe that The Patriot Act does not help control terrorism. Instead, it undermines us as
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 commonly known as the USA Patriot Act. This paper will attempt to prove that not only is the USA Patriot Act unconstitutional but many of its provisions do nothing at all to protect Americans from the dangers of terrorism. While this act made legislative changes that increased surveillance and the investigative powers of law enforcement agencies to protect America from further terrorist acts, the passing of the USA Patriot Act has reduced the privacy rights
Even today the Patriot Act of 2001 still affects American citizens by taking advantage of the exigence of 9/11 and resulting in the violation of not just citizens’ rights, but human rights as well. A Roman politician and philosopher, Cicero, eloquently stated in his De Officiis, “...let us not hold unknown for known and [we] should not recklessly accept it, and he who wishes to escape this vice, as all should do, will devote time and attention to the weighing of evidence”. Thus, Congress should not
Patriot Act 2: The Domestic Security Enhancement Act After the horrendous terrorist attack on the New York Trade Center a new Bill was passed by congress shortly after September 11, 2004. This bill is known as The Domestic Security Enhancement Act also called Patriot Act 2. This bill was designed as a follow-up to the USA Patriot Act to work in increasing government surveillance, detention and other law enforcement powers while reducing basic checks and balances on such powers. By the beginning