Research laws and Acts

One of the biggest violations to American Civil Rights is the Patriot Act. “The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. The act greatly reduced restrictions that were placed on law enforcement agencies and gave them the ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records. It eased restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States and expanded the Secretary of the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions. The Patriot Act expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities to which the powers can be applied. Since its passage, several legal challenges have been brought against the act, and Federal courts have ruled that a number of provisions are unconstitutional. Opponents have criticized the sections that authorize the indefinite detentions of immigrants, searches through which law enforcement officers search a home or business without the owner’s or the occupant’s permission or knowledge, and the expanded use of National Security Letters, which allows the FBI to search telephone, e-mail, and financial records without a court order. The Patriot Act gave law enforcement agencies unprecedented access to business records, including library and financial records. Not all aspects of the Act have been challenged and many Americans have approved the passage. People have promoted the provisions made to the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires financial institutions in the United States to assist U.S. government agencies to detect and prevent money laundering. Title II of the Patriot Act established three very controversial provisions, “sneak and peek” warrants, roving wiretaps and the ability of the FBI to gain access to documents that reveal the patterns of U.S. citizens. The so-called “sneak and peek” law allowed for delayed notification of the execution of search warrants. Roving wiretaps are wiretap orders that do not need to specify all common carriers and third parties in a surveillance court order” (Top 10).

United States of American is considered the land of the free, but in reality no one is ever free. After reviewing recent Acts, laws and provisions implemented since 9/11, you can distinguish that Americans are always being monitored. Some racial and ethnic groups are being watched more closely than others, but no one is excluded from being watched. The constitution was set in place to protect the people, and give the people civil rights and privacy; however there is a price to pay for a sense of security.