USA PATRIOT Act Paper Free Essay Example, 2000 words

USA PATRIOT Act The USA PATRIOT Act is a legislation that was formulated to improve the ability of the US to curb terroristattacks on home soil. The Patriot Act has led to serious societal implications. It has enhanced security by granting security agencies more power to gather intelligence. It has led to unfair profiling, physical abuse and other forms of human rights abuse. Balancing security needs and individual rights is necessary. The effectiveness of the patriot act relies on the way law enforcement officers treat suspects. Keywords: patriot act, intelligence, terrorism Introduction The USA PATRIOT Act is a legislation that followed immediately after the 9/11 terror attack on American soil (Casman, 2011p. 51). Previously, the US government had focused on fighting terror by confronting nations abroad and supported other countries to fight terror within their borders. The 9/11 terror attack exposed a major weakness in the ability of the government to fight terror. In responses, the Congress came up with a law that extended the ability of government to obtain intelligence, improved information sharing between security agencies and enhance relationships between law enforcement agencies (Litt, 2013 p. We will write a custom essay sample on USA PATRIOT Act Paper or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now 313). The question whether the legislation has been effective or not is not much of a concern in this paper. The paper seeks to analyze the societal implication of USA PATRIOT Act and other legislation that put a cap on the daily movements of people. It looks at concerns related to race, the impact of technology and influence of both international and domestic tourism. Societal Implications of USA PATRIOT Act and Similar Legislature The USA PATRIOT Act has strong implications for the essential freedoms, ethnicity, and religion. The legislation has a directly attacked the civil liberties that had been part of the American society for many years. The legislation gave the security agencies the permission spy on people’s lives without permission. It gives law agencies the power to search homes, financial records and other information on the suspicion that one is involved in terrorism (The USA PATRIOT Act: : Impact on the Arab and Muslim American Community, 2004 p. 9). The presentation of proof is not mandatory. A search can be done bases on suspicion. There has been concern among civil rights activist that the act threatens the civil liberties upon which the United States of America was found. The Act has given the government too much power to access private records in the name of fighting terrorism.