USA Patriot Act

After several terrorist attacks affecting the United States citizens and interests, Congress
introduced and enacted the USA Patriot Act. It permits federal law enforcement agencies to
investigate foreign, domestic, large, and small terrorist organizations. The legislation also allows
for increased surveillance and allows the federal organizations to collect intelligence on terror
organizations so that they can be able to protect Americans and combat terrorism 1 . Combating
terrorism is a priority, especially in the wake of many terror attacks; however, much of the
legislation takes away at the civil rights or residents and citizens of the US that the Constitution
protects.
The USA Patriot Act violates the Fourth Amendment, which seeks to protect the people
from unwarranted searches and seizures. The amendment requires that the government first
obtain a search warrant and show plausible cause pointing that the individual intends to or has
committed a crime 2 . The legislation makes modifications to the Federal Rules of Criminal
Procedure unconstitutionally so as to allow the authorities to do searches secretly without letting
the affected individuals know 3 . Affected persons might know of the search long after it was

1 Evans, Jennifer C. “Hijacking civil liberties: The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.” Loy. U. Chi. LJ 33 (2001): 933.
2 Evans, Jennifer C. “Hijacking civil liberties: The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.” Loy. U. Chi. LJ 33 (2001): 936.
3 Doyle, Charles. “The USA PATRIOT Act: a legal analysis.” LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON DC
CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE, 2002: 21

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completed.
Further, notice, which is a crucial check on government power aimed at protecting people
from exploitation by the government, has been waived by the legislation, and this is a violation
of civil rights 4 . Notice provision is a vital component of due process. It is a right provided for by
the Fifth Amendment. The provision of notice is necessary as it ensures that government
authorities operate openly 5 . It also ensures that subjects of searches enjoy their protection under
the Fourth Amendment. It makes it possible to identify irregularities in a search warrant, such as
wrong address or wrong subject before the search warrant is executed. Additionally, there are
limits on how far they can go on their searches. However, when search authorities lack limits and
operate on unsupervised discretion, then the owner of a property is left powerless and cannot
defend his or her rights. Thus, the Patriot Act violates key aspects of both the Fourth as well as
Fifth Amendments.
Additionally, the legislation diminishes the due process for non-residents and immigrants.
Section 411 of the legislation states the engagement of terrorist acts includes the use of weapons
and other non-violent acts such as financing or fundraising for groups suspected to be engaging
in terror activities 6 . Besides, the Act permits the removal or detention of immigrants and non-
residents with minimal or no judicial involvement. Thus, the Attorney General and Secretary of

4 American Civil Liberties Union. “Surveillance under the USA/Patriot Act.” American Civil Liberties Union, American
Civil Liberties Union, https://www.aclu.org/other/surveillance-under-usapatriot-act.
5 American Civil Liberties Union. “Surveillance under the USA/Patriot Act.” American Civil Liberties Union, American
Civil Liberties Union, https://www.aclu.org/other/surveillance-under-usapatriot-act.
6 Abdolian, Lisa Finnegan, and Harold Takooshian. “The USA Patriot Act: Civil liberties, the media, and public
opinion.” Fordham Urb. LJ 30 (2002): 1431.

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State may claim that a certain group residing in the country affiliates with or is suspected to be a
terror organization, and this would be enough reason to deport members of the group.
Historically, the United States has had to balance the importance of safeguarding
constitutionally provided rights as well as national security. In some instances, certain rights and
freedoms have had to be taken away or sacrificed temporarily to allow for the upholding of
national security. When Congress enacted the legislation, it overreached on its powers,
consequently violating civil rights. The legislation is not a temporary measure, and this
endangers the American civil liberties allowed for in the Constitution. As much as the
government enacted the legislation with national security as a priority, American civil rights
have continued to be violated ever since.

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Works Cited

Abdolian, Lisa Finnegan, and Harold Takooshian. “The USA Patriot Act: Civil liberties, the
media, and public opinion.” Fordham Urb. LJ 30 (2002): 1429.
American Civil Liberties Union. “Surveillance under the USA/Patriot Act.” American Civil
Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union,
https://www.aclu.org/other/surveillance-under-usapatriot-act.
Doyle, Charles. “The USA PATRIOT Act: a legal analysis.” Library Of Congress Washington
Dc Congressional Research Service, 2002.
Evans, Jennifer C. “Hijacking civil liberties: The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.” Loy. U. Chi.
LJ 33 (2001): 933.