|
A Silent Victim of 9/11 - Our Civil
Liberties
by Fatima Cash, MWL Board Member
The truth as trickled out over the past
few months and it is difficult to face. As our nation
has mourned the victims of 9/11 we also
have learned that the very government departments designed to protect us,
failed miserably. The FBI, CIA, INS, FAA, state and local police
departments don’t talk to one another or share vital information.
Some have said that our immigration
policies are too loose, our legal system is flawed and in general our
society is too open. Their answer is to restrict legal protections and
civil liberties to keep us safe. I reject this philosophy because to
endanger our freedom is too dear a price to pay. Fix those government
agencies that don’t work, streamline communication between agencies, and
tighten up INS tracking of student visas and other immigrants before
asking us to sacrifice ONE civil liberty.
After 9/11, we have allowed our
government to trample on some peoples’ civil liberties. The US
government detains people in maximum-security facilities on minor
immigration violations, restricting access to attorneys and family
members. The Justice Department has won lower court appeals to avoid
disclosing the names and numbers of people they detain on grounds of “National
Security”. Due process and regular laws to protect the detained have
been suspended. The government can listen and record confidential
attorney-client conversations. Legally established US charities have had
their assets confiscated and their operations closed without the
government showing any proof of illegal activities. Congress passed the
Patriot Act, which further strengthens the power of the government against
individuals. Several US citizens have been labeled enemy combatants and
have been stripped of the protections afforded a citizen in our legal
system.
We should be ashamed of what our
government is doing in our name. History will view this post-9/11 hysteria
in a similar light to the internment of Japanese Americans in the 1940’s,
a dark period in our nations history.
|
