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Annah Sidigu

The USA PATRIOT ACT: Power Unchecked and Unbalanced

For those of you who don't have access to an Internet connection, skip to the second paragraph of this article. If you do have access, however, then please go to the Library of Congress' home page at www.loc.gov and click on Thomas. From there you can access a copy of the bill in question by typing in H.R. 3162. Select the ENR version of the bill. Now, you ask, what was the point of that little exercise?

Behold the USA Patriot Act, also known as the Anti-Terrorism Bill. While some people may have heard of this lengthy document, few are aware of its contents, let alone what it really stands for. The full title of the bill is Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. Pretty hefty, huh? But what does it really mean? Well, no one is actually sure. As you can see, the act is lengthy and tedious to analyze. Moreover, its language is vague and leaves a great deal of room for interpretation. Why?

Since the September 11 attacks, Americans have become accustomed to hearing the word "terrorism" used frequently and in many different contexts. From the left and right, various groups have employed the term to promote or demote both valiant and not-so-valiant causes. The word attracts attention from all types of people. It is no surprise then that a bill aimed at fighting terrorism, a word with broad implications, attempts to be all-encompassing in this goal. In fact, it covers everything from money-laundering and phone fraud to the United States' jurisdiction over foreign terrorists. Simply put, the USA Patriot Act is sweeping legislation. The major criticism of the act, however, is not simply that it alters major legislation such as the Freedom of Information Act and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, but that, essentially, it alters life. Vagueness and the fact that so few people really know about the USA Patriot Act make it especially dangerous. The potential for abuse is not just great; it is incredible.

By concentrating power in the executive branch, stripping away the rights of both citizens and non-citizens, and allowing the government to bypass Constitutional requirements, the USA Patriot Act undermines the very democracy it claims to defend.

While some people think of it as a necessary response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, the USA Patriot Act has deeper and more ancient roots. Writer Jennifer Van Bergen states in her six-part analysis "Repeal the USA Patriot Act" that "there is no way that the USA Patriot Act came into existence solely in response to September 11th. In fact, it is clear from prior legislative and case history that law enforcement and intelligence have been trying for many years to obtain these powers. It is only the unreasoning 'bunker mentality' that followed September 11th that allowed its planners to pass it." Three instances in particular - the Palmer Raids, COINTELPRO, and the McCarthy Trials - highlight the way the United States government has used the fears and prejudices of its citizens to attain greater power and control. In the 1920s, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer spearheaded a campaign to purge the country of "alien enemies," or foreigners with ties to the Communist Party. Under his orders, thirty cities in the United States were raided and between six thousand and ten thousand people were arrested, often without warrants. In the secret hearings that determined whether or not the accused was to be deported, an immigration inspector acted as the sole judicial authority. In at least one case, Palmer admitted, a government agent actually posed as a recruiter for a Communist party. Found illegal in 1921, today the Palmer "Red Raids" campaign is regarded as a blatant violation of the due process rights guaranteed all people under the Constitution, and as an example of the devastating effect that one person, given the means and authority, can have on an entire population.

Unlike the Palmer Raids and the McCarthy Trials, in which the government targeted foreign, but faceless Communist "enemies," COINTELPRO was one instance in which the enemy had a face. It was an American face and it was black.

COINTELPRO was, and presumably is, the FBI's domestic "counterintelligence program." Although the program was in operation as early as the 1950s, it became particularly active in the 1960s when the racist government of that time sought to undermine the Black movement by attacking the Black Panther Party, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others. The government also harassed individuals and groups of various races and ethnicities that opposed the United States' foreign or domestic policy, but not as intensely as they targeted blacks. In addition to the FBI, other government agencies, such as the CIA, White House, Attorney General, Army intelligence, and even state and local law enforcement were involved. By spying on, infiltrating, and misinforming people about activist organizations, the FBI played an instrumental role in the demise of many of these groups, most notably the Black Panther Party, and in the deaths of leaders such as Malcolm X and Fred Hampton. The FBI publicly ended COINTELPRO in 1971, after citizens investigating the bureau exposed it; however, evidence such as the 1990 near-fatal bombing of environmentalist Judi Bari suggests that it is not as much a part of history as the bureau would have people believe.

Which brings us to the present: racial profiling, secret military tribunals, the abandonment of due process laws, the lack of checks, and the loss of balance are all hallmarks of the USA Patriot Act. Another faceless enemy - nothing new. Another era of secrecy - also not new. Another power-mad Attorney General. See a pattern? According to Van Bergen, the most significant effects of the USA Patriot Act are that it "utterly relinquishes any semblance of due process, violates the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments, and unacceptably mixes aspects of criminal investigations with aspects of immigration and foreign intelligence laws."

Standards for obtaining information on and prosecuting suspected terrorists are drastically lowered. Section 216 practically overturns the Fourth Amendment, which requires government officials to show probable cause in order to obtain search warrants. Now government may conduct various methods of surveillance with fewer restrictions. "Sneak and peek" means that the government may even search a home without ever informing the owner.

The USA Patriot Act assumes that people accused of terrorist activity are guilty until proven innocent. In Section 802, domestic terrorism is defined as acts "dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws" that "appear to be intended" to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population" or "influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion." Since this applies to citizens and immigrants, many people, especially activists, who in any way oppose the government, could be classified as terrorists. We need only look at COINTELPRO to see that it has happened before.

One reason so few people have taken an interest in the USAPA is that foreigners are more obviously affected by it. Already, the government has seized the personal information of foreign students in more than 200 colleges and universities across the country. The act legalizes racial profiling by allowing the government to obtain information on students in three categories-those belonging to certain nationalities, those belonging to certain ethnicities, and those taking certain courses. As another example of the government's determination to instill fear in non-citizens, Reuters reports that fifty-eight foreign students have been arrested and actually face criminal charges of "conspiracy to commit wire fraud" for either paying another person to take or taking for another person the Test of English as a Foreign Language, which is required for enrollment in schools in the United States. If convicted, each student faces up to five years in prison as well as a $250,000 fine.

Arabs and Muslims especially, both citizens and non-citizens, have already seen the USAPA in action. In March, government agents raided the homes of fourteen Muslim families and organizations in Northern Virginia. Brooke A. Masters of The Washington Post notes that instead of following normal procedures and making it public, Judge Theresa Buchanan sealed the information which justified the search warrant.

Currently, the United States government is indefinitely detaining more than one thousand people of Arab descent. Most likely, many of these people are not even aware of the charges against them because the USA Patriot Act enables the government to present secret evidence against both citizens and non-citizens, directly inhibiting a proper defense and violating the Sixth Amendment right of the accused to confront his or her accuser. Detainees are also robbed of their right to a state-provided attorney. Although they are allowed to employ their own, many detainees are unaware of this and, in any case cannot afford to do so. In yet another violation of Constitutional law, Van Bergen reports, allegations have surfaced that detainees who have sought counsel have been denied this right.

Like the Palmer Raids, the USA Patriot Act puts the fate of a large number of people in one person's hands. Basically, the Attorney General has the role of assigning guilt. An immigrant suspected of terrorist activity may be held for seven days without being charged. In that time, the Attorney General must declare whether or not there are "reasonable grounds" to believe the suspect has been involved in terrorist activity. Once the Attorney General "certifies" this, the government may hold the accused person indefinitely, a policy that directly violates the Eighth Amendment's guarantee of a "speedy and public trial," as well as the Sixth Amendment's prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment."

While tighter airport security and similar measures effectively combat terrorism, the USA Patriot Act does not. Instead it does what terrorism does best: it creates an atmosphere of fear. In times of war, revolution, or conflict, the government has sought to quell dissent under the guise of rooting out foreign influences. The Palmer Raids targeted foreign Communists, but nearly three decades later, COINTELPRO began operating against American Communists. Once the threat of Communism was eradicated, the government turned its attention to black Americans and others who challenged its repressive use of authority. The USA Patriot Act is simply the latest in the series. But the goal has always been the same-not to protect Americans, but to protect the wealthy, white American establishment of corporations, banks, and politicians. Racism and xenophobia are perpetuated in the government via the establishment. From the establishment come most of the people that comprise the executive branch, such as the President, Secretary of State, and Attorney General. It is the responsibility of every citizen to make sure that no part of the government has a monopoly on both political and economic power.

Writer and activist Howard Zinn proposes the best method-that is to expose the government and, especially, agencies like the FBI that thrive and prey on fear. Secrecy and sabotage are the techniques that the U.S. government employs to "protect" Americans. In the aftermath of September 11, we must ask ourselves the true identity of our faceless enemy. Is it the Arab-American college student taking a class on nuclear defense strategies, or is it the people keeping files on him and, most likely, on you?