The USA Patriot Act: A Policy of Discrimination

In response to the increased national security threat caused by the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 the United States implemented new anti-terrorism laws, such as those found in USA Patriot Act, which have made many Muslim individuals vulnerable to racial profiling and discrimination. Through a close examination of the Act, this analysis argues that the adoption of racial profiling policies and procedures which target Muslims that has been enabled by the USA Patriot Act, in addition to subsequent policies influenced by this Act, has perpetuated and normalized a problematic association of Islam with terrorism by placing it at the center of official, institutionalized security practices since 9/11. After establishing both the existence of and the rationale behind racial profiling in the United States prior to 9/11, I demonstrate the comprehensive shift in profiling tactics and in the target population for law enforcement and security agencies after 9/11. Finally, I show how ambiguous sections and clauses found throughout Title II of the Patriot Act have led to the misapplication of the law and abuses of enforcement by law and security officials, as well as the general public’s acceptance of such discriminatory behavior simply because the features and traits of individuals have been deemed a “threat” to national security.Recommendations are made to modify the security policies and procedures outlined in the Patriot Act to create profiles targeting individuals based on race, gender, age, and other factors in order to substantially mitigate the chances of error in judgement during the screening process, rather than relying solely on the broad category of “Middle Eastern appearance”, of which is often referred to for a potential terrorist pool