The U.S.A Patriot Act
The U.S.A Patriot Act was enacted in 2001 following the September 11th Attack. The objective of the act was to enhance terror surveillance and prevention on American soil. However, there have been arguments that it was hurriedly enacted. The main provisions were to help in preventing money laundering and spying for terror groups. In addition to this, President Obama signed the Patriot Sunsets Extension Act to be an extension of the patriots act. Through the years, the patriot act has been blamed for various limitations (Yager, 2012). For instance, it has been blamed for unwarranted jailing of citizens, reduced privacy and increased surveillance and spying on churches and other religious groups without any crime suspicions. The act provides for the prevention of domestic terrorism through carrying out of searches on suspected individuals and places. This is claimed to be tantamount to harassment as the law enforcement agencies cannot be compelled to provide information regarding when they intend to carry out surveillance or searches.
Secondly, the act also provides for the tracking of activities believed to involve or support money laundering. The key challenge faced in this is the lack of definition of financial institutions. This makes some of the health facilities to be considered as money laundering points and hence face problems. The patriot act also provides for the sharing of information among government bodies to enhance terror prevention. This has however been blamed for reduced privacy. Since the law is not clear on differentiating terrorists from other Americans, the patriot act has led to immense racial profiling among the law enforcement agencies (Mathew, 2008). People have also complained that they are unfairly searched and that their privacy is no longer protected.
References
Mathew, P. (2008). Implications of US Patriot act on human rights: Analysis. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH.
Yager, L. (2008). USA Patriot Act: Better Interagency Coordination and Implementing Guidance for Section 311 Could Improve US Anti-Money laundering Efforts. Collingdale, PA: Diane Publishing.
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