The US Patriot Act: Impact on the Arab and Muslim American Community
The Patriot Act, which was passed into law in October 2001, ushers in a new system of government secrecy and a corresponding abandonment of the constitutional principles of due process, privacy and equal protection. In addition, the constitutional framework of checks and balances has slid towards irrelevance as the executive branch issues restrictive orders and policies which bypass Congress or any independent judiciary in cases purported to involve national security.
Consequently, countless ambiguities in the law have led to misapplication by government officials and abuses by enforcement officers. Incidents include profiling, harassment and physical assaults. It has also led to a backlash against Arabs, Sikhs and Muslims in which hate crimes are on the rise and neighbors are spying on neighbors simply because their .features. look threatening. Clearly these same provisions have slowly crept into other communities and are now having a profound impact on the rights of all American citizens regardless of their race, ethnicity or religion.
In this report, ISPU’s research team concludes the Patriot Act is fundamentally flawed because it relies on a false premise . that America can be safer if it does away with basic checks and balances. By undermining the role of the courts, Congress and the press in providing a real check on executive power, the Patriot Act directs its ire at the institutions of democracy instead of at the terrorists that threaten it. In so doing, it threatens to undermine the rights of ordinary people and, ironically, the war against terrorism.
Printed from the Institute of Social Policy & Understanding Website(www.ispu.org).