Policies Implemented Post 9/11
After the attacks that occurred on September 1, 2001, the United States government implemented several acts. According to numerous sources, about a year after the incident there were about 150 legislative pieces related to the attacks that were introduced to the Congress. From that extensive amount, forty-eight bills and resolutions were approved by the Congress or signed into law. There were five acts that emphasized the emergence of Islamophobia in America including: the Patriot Act, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, and the Visa Entry Reform Act (Villemez). Patriot Act A month after 9/11, President George W. Bush signed the Patriot Act was. This act was in response to the attacks and it was used to reduce the restrictions law enforcement agencies had, giving them more freedom in the work field. This meant that these agencies were allowed to search e-mail communications, medical, telephone, financials and several other records they were not given access to prior to the act. This act also included domestic terrorism in the definition of terrorism, which led to an increase of activities to which these new powers can be applied. Title II of this act established three provisions: roving wiretaps, “sneak and peek” warrants, and allowed the FBI to have access to documents revealing the lives of U.S. citizens ("What Is the USA Patriot Web"). Many people criticized certain sections, which allowed indefinite detentions of immigrants, law enforcement officers to search home or business without the owner knowing or permission, and the use of National Security Letters. Then on May 26, 2011, President Barack Obama signed a four-year extension of the three provisions: searches of business records, roving wiretaps, and surveillance of the “lone wolves” (people who are suspected of terrorist-related activities but not linked to any terrorist groups). This act specifically targets immigrants, especially Muslims and Middle Easterners therefore perpetuating a fear towards Muslims in America ("What Is the USA Patriot Web"). Aviation and Transportation Security Act On November 19, 2001, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act was enacted following the attacks in September in order to prevent future terrorist attacks. This meant that the federal government was now responsible for security in all types of transportation including: rail, aviation, maritime transportation and port security, and other types of surface transportation. After 9/11 the number of air marshals significantly increased from only thirty-three to more than a thousand. The “no fly” list expanded as they restricted people who were suspected of terrorist ties from traveling commercial. This act then led to the establishment of Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which highlights the Islamophobic actions towards Muslims (Dinneen). The TSA was created to supposedly reduce the amount of terrorist attacks in America, however in 2010 they revised their guidelines specifically targeting Muslim countries. With this new revision, the security screeners were to conduct full body checks and their luggage for passengers traveling from specific countries America believes to be a risk to their people and country. Those targeted countries are Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Cuba, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Syria. Out of these fourteen countries, thirteen of them are predominately Muslim countries. This shows how the American government has taken certain “precautionary” steps to stop Muslims from supposedly threatening the safety of Americans ("New Airport TSA..."). Enhance Border and Security Visa Entry Reform Act A month after the attacks in 2001, the State Department issued a 28 day “mandatory hold on all non-immigrant visa applications” that were completed by men from the age group of 18 to 45 from about 26 countries and most of them were Muslim or Arab. These applicants were forced to deal with “special security clearances” and those in Jordan (an Arab country) dealt with stricter procedures like visa applications had to be approved in Washington D.C. and no longer in Amman at the American Consulate. But the U.S. ambassador explained that Jordan was not the only Arab country that also had to go through this difficult process as well. Then in November, the Justice Department wanted to interview about five thousand individuals from Arab and Muslim countries that came to America on non-immigrant visas since January 2000. They even asked the local police departments to interview the Arab residents in their areas just for precaution (Cainkar). Then on May 14, 2002, the Congress passed the Enhance Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act. This act had several provisions including: machine-readable visas, the integration of the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), and mandatory lists sent to U.S. of passengers boarding a plane to come to America. This rule was a restriction on non-immigrant visas for those who come from countries the U.S. believes to be “sponsors of terrorism”. This act specifically target the Muslim and Arab countries more than any other countries, thus affecting millions of individuals who are innocent of terrorist actions (Cainkar). |
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