U.S. Patriot Act Controversy

Amy Hoang

Section 1

Week 6

The creation of the U.S. Patriot Act in response to the 9/11 terrorist attack reminds me of other government responses that seem hauntingly similar. The imprisonment of over 100,000 innocent Japanese Americans within the country after Pearl Harbor in 1941; the Wen Ho Lee case, in which the Chinese American man was jailed and fined for leaking nuclear weapon related information to China, a claim which was later found to be false.

The Patriot Act shows the U.S. is opening up to more foreign investigation, becoming more paranoid and fearful of the foreign peoples who have come to live in America. That is why this act affects Asian Americans. Wen Ho Lee's case or the Japanese internment camps will probably not happen again, but this kind of government speculation makes citizens, especially immigrants or the generations after them, have to stay careful for our own sakes.

So my question is, is the Patriot Act actually beneficial? Has it caught any large criminals, or is it creating more controversy and hurt within our own system than catching bad guys?

The following picture depicts a teacher trying to stay within boundaries because of fear of the government: