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In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President George Bush and his administration devised legislation now known as the Patriot Act (or USA Patriot Act). The Patriot Act was intended to thwart future terrorist attacks, through identification and punishment of its perpetrators. "USA Patriot Act" is an acronym for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001."
The proposed legislation was submitted to Congress just one week after the attacks, and quickly gained approval in both houses. It passed in the Senate without debate; Russell Feingold (D-WI) was the lone vote against the measure. Feingold said, "Preserving our freedom is one of the main reasons that we are now engaged in this new war on terrorism. We will lose that war without firing a shot if we sacrifice the liberties of the American people." In the House of Representatives, the legislation passed 357 to 66, after receiving minor modifications. The president signed the 342-page bill into law on October 26, 2001. When he signed it, he said, "We're dealing with terrorists who operate by highly sophisticated methods and technologies, some of which were not even available when our existing laws were written. The bill before me takes account of the new realities and dangers posed by modern terrorists."
Congress declared its commitment to protecting Americans' civil rights and civil liberties in the "quest to identify, locate, and bring to justice the perpetrators and sponsors of the terrorist attacks," but the Patriot Act has sparked fierce debate. Proponents say the act enhances national security. Opponents, including the ACLU, contend the Patriot Act severely undercuts basic civil liberties. The ACLU has charged that the Patriot Act "vastly expand[s] the government's authority to spy on its own citizens, while simultaneously reducing checks and balances on those powers like judicial oversight, public accountability, and the ability to challenge government searches in court." Many other groups have criticized the act as well. For example, according to the National League of Cities, by mid-2005 more than 2,000 communities had passed resolutions expressing concern with civil liberties issues in the Patriot Act.
The Patriot Act's stated purpose is "to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes." The act is comprised of the ten categories, called titles:
According to the Department of Justice's website devoted to the Patriot Act, the following successes can be attributed, wholly or in part, to the Patriot Act:
Provisions in Title I set up a Counterterrorism Fund in the U.S. Treasury, and appropriated $200 million for each fiscal year from 2002 through 2004. Section 106 of the title increases presidential authority to seize the property of foreign persons, organizations, or countries that the president determines "has planned, authorized, aided, or engaged in such hostilities or attacks against the United States." Title I also orders the U.S. Secret Service to develop a national network of electronic crime task forces to "purpose of preventing, detecting, and investigating various forms of electronic crimes, including potential terrorist attacks against critical infrastructure and financial payment systems."
This title contains the act's most controversial provisions. Title II extends the government's authority to use wiretaps under the Foreign Intelligence Survey Act of 1978 (FISA). FISA authorized the government to conduct wiretap surveillance in foreign intelligence investigations, without having to show probable cause to obtain a warrant. Typically, the Fourth Amendment requires a showing of probable cause before a warrant will be issued in a criminal case. Before the Patriot Act, the government could conduct such wiretaps only where the primary purpose was to obtain foreign intelligence. The Patriot Act expanded the Fourth Amendment exception. Now, pursuant to section 218, FISA may be used where a "significant" purpose of the investigation is foreign intelligence gathering.
In 2001, laws did not exist regarding Internet surveillance. As the Internet grew, authorities relied on pre-Internet era wiretap laws to gather information. Essentially, whenever law enforcement personnel wanted access to Internet addresses (URLs), they sought authorization through the "pen register" and "trap and trace" laws of telephone surveillance. Pen registers capture the phone numbers of outgoing telephone calls. Trap and trace devices capture incoming phone numbers. Neither method captures the actual content of a telephone call, so investigators could obtain a search warrant without establishing probable cause that a crime was being committed. When faced with Internet surveillance requests, some judges applied the telephone surveillance rules, but others refused. In Section 216, the Patriot Act specifically applies pen register and trap-and-trace law to the Internet. Moreover, pen registers and trap and trace wiretaps are valid nationwide, not just in the jurisdiction of the court that approved it. The section does not permit examination of the content of a communication. Nevertheless, critics argue that web addresses are different than telephone
Section 214 deals with wiretapping authority under FISA and makes it easier for authorities to obtain approval for pen register and trap and trace wiretap devices. Investigators must certify that information obtained will be relevant to an investigation, rather than the previous, stricter standard that permitted wiretaps when a line was used for communications with someone involved in terrorism.
Section 209 permits seizure of voice mail messages with a search warrant. Previously, authorities needed a wiretap order.
Title II also gives the government broad authority to share "electronic, wire, and oral interception information" gleaned from an investigation with other federal agencies. Pursuant to FISA, it also allows authorities to compel Internet service providers to disclose information about a user's e-mail activity, and to compel businesses to turn over personal information related to a criminal investigation. Moreover, section 213 provides that authorities executing a search warrant may delay notice of the search under certain circumstances. Critics allege this delay impinges upon a person's right to challenge the constitutionality of the search.
Pursuant to the act, the federal government may examine the library records of patrons without their knowledge. The American Library Association (ALA) has condemned this authorization, arguing that it violates user privacy and thereby threatens the free access to knowledge and information. The 64,000-member ALA passed the resolution in early 2003.
Section 224 is a sunset provision, intended to allay concern over the controversy in some of its sections. Accordingly, a number of the act's surveillance and intelligence- gathering provisions, if not re-approved, were set to expire on December 31, 2005. The House of Representatives voted on December 14, 2005, by a vote of 251 to 174, to extend the law for another four years. The House voted to renew sections that permit roving wiretaps. Roving wiretaps are wiretaps placed on every telephone a suspect uses. It also approved extension of provisions that permit the FBI to use secret warrants to obtain medical, business, and library records. In the Senate, however, the re-approval process was much more uncertain. Finally, the Senate and House compromised and approved a renewal of the act in March 2006.
Provisions in Title II have been successfully employed in non-terrorist cases. In an address to Congress on July 13, 2004, Attorney General John Ashcroft noted several instances where provisions in Title II were used in domestic criminal investigations. The cases cited involved sexual predators and electronic surveillance under sections 210 and 212 of the act. Ashcroft told Congress, "When it comes to saving lives and protecting freedom, we must use the Patriot Act and every legal means available to us."
The official name of Title III is the "International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001." In passing these provisions, Congress cited International Monetary Fund figures which estimate that between two and five percent of the global gross domestic product comes from money laundering with money from illegal drug and smuggling activities. The law called these gains from money laundering the "financial fuel" of terrorist operations. According to the Justice Department, money laundering provisions have been used to:
Provisions in this title authorized appropriations to triple the number of U.S. Border Patrol, Customs Service, and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) personnel posted at the border with Canada. (In other legislation related to the September 11, 2001, attacks, in March 2003, Customs, INS, and Border Patrol became part of the newly formed Department of Homeland Security.) Provisions in this title also enhance immigration provisions. For example, the Secretary of State now has the authority to designate domestic terrorist organizations. A domestic
Section 416 addresses the foreign student monitoring program. It compels schools to turn over information on foreign students for analysis and investigation.
Section 412 of Title IV is another controversial section of the Patriot Act. It permits up to seven days of detention for aliens suspected of terrorism, before they must be charged with a crime or removal proceedings are commenced. Moreover, an immigrant who has been charged with a violation may be held for up to six months if the immigrant's release would threaten national security.
The first Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, stated in 2004, "We share nearly 7,500 miles of land border with Canada and Mexico, across which more than 400 million people, 130 million motor vehicles and 2.5 million rail cars pass every year. We patrol almost 95,000 miles of shoreline and navigable waters … We have to get it right millions of times a week. But the terrorists only have to get it right once."
These titles have not been the source of controversy. The purpose of Title V is to enhance the federal government's ability to offer rewards for information offered for terrorism investigations. Title VI is concerned with providing funds and assistance to the victims of terrorism and to public safety officers and their families, where the officers are killed or suffer catastrophic injury due to terrorism. Title VII amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to facilitate communication among federal, state, and local authorities in the event of a terrorist attack.
Title VIII's numerous sections are intended strengthen criminal laws against terrorism. This title adds offenses for terrorism against mass transportation. It also addresses domestic terrorism, defining it as involving "acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State" that "appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States." Section 803 makes it illegal to harbor or conceal terrorists or suspected terrorists. Moreover, section 809 extends certain criminal statutes of limitations. Where the commission of certain terrorism offenses "resulted in, or created a forseeable risk of, death or serious bodily injury to another person," the statute of limitations is eliminated. Section 814 is intended to deter and prevent cyber-terrorism by increasing criminal penalties for Computer Fraud and Abuse Act violations. It amends the statutory definition of "protected computers" so that computers located outside the United States are included.
This title addresses various intelligence concerns, within the federal government, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Congress directed the CIA to set up a "National Virtual Translation Center" to provide "timely and accurate translations of foreign intelligence for all other elements of the intelligence community."
USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.Available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ056.107
http://www.lifeandliberty.govDepartment of Justice's Patriot Act website, 2006.
The Patriot Act: Opposing Viewpoints Greenhaven Press, 2005.
The USA PATRIOT Act, Online Newshour, The website of The Newshour with Jim Lehrer. Available at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/homeland/patriotact.html
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