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DSA Statement Opposing the
Provide Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act
(PATRIOT) (H.R. 2975)
issued by the Steering Committee
of the National Political Committee
October 14, 2001
| Almost 6000 United States citizens and residents were murdered on September 11th. Democratic Socialists of America believes that the perpetrators should be brought to justice through international, lawful cooperation among states. We support efforts to increase the true security of people within the United States, while respecting the civil liberties of all. The just passed Senate bill making airport and airline security a federal responsibility is a good example of the kind of positive steps government can take. Unfortunately, the Bush administration and its allies in Congress are rushing to take advantage of a climate of fear to pass new repressive legislation. The proposed "anti-terrorist" bills in Congress will do little to make our country secure against actual terrorism, but will severely erode civil liberties, violate the rights of immigrants, and create a chilling climate for political dissent. Embodied in the Provide Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (PATRIOT) (H.R. 2975) in the House, and an even worse bill coming through the Senate, are provisions which: • Allow indefinite detention of non-citizens, even if they have successfully challenged a government effort to deport them. • Minimize judicial supervision of federal surveillance by law enforcement authorities, whether through wiretapping or over the Internet. • Expand the ability of the government to conduct secret searches. • Allow the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations, thereby blocking any non-citizen who belongs to those groups from entering or re-entering the country. A charitable impulse or political gesture would become a deportable offense. • Grant the FBI increase access to private business records of individuals without needing evidence of a crime. Legislation that indiscriminately targets dissenters and renders immigrants and others vulnerable to deportation and detention without the use of proper legal and evidentiary proceedings does not increase our nation's security. Rather, it will create the very climate of fear and repression that the enemies of free societies desire. DSA urges its members and locals to lobby their elected representatives to oppose this legislation. Approved October 14, 2001 by the DSA NPC Steering Committee |