Answer:
The Patriot Act has been founded on the argument that, after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the American people had to choose between their security and their constitutional rights, opting to restrict the latter to guarantee security. Despite the broad support received in both houses of Congress, various sectors of American society, still at risk of being qualified to favor terrorism, have criticized the Patriot Act for having suspended the validity of human rights and civil liberties in the United States. In the same sense, several judicial decisions have declared it unconstitutional for violating the rights and guarantees of the Constitution of the United States of America.
Explanation:
The Patriot Act is a federal law of the United States. It was approved by an overwhelming majority by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and then promulgated by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001, after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The objective of this law is to expand the control capacity of the government in order to combat terrorism, improving the capacity of the different security agencies by coordinating them and providing them with greater powers of vigilance against terrorist crimes. The law also enacted new offenses and toughened sentences for terrorism offenses.
The Patriot Act has been harshly criticized by various human rights organizations, due to the restriction of liberties and constitutional guarantees that it has supposed for citizens.
