Prepared
for Curtis Cole by
Los Altos
Voices for Peace
This package contains the
following background material on the USA PATRIOT Act and its implications for a
city like Los Altos:
·
Summary of the major flaws in the Act and what can be done
to correct them (Center for Democracy and Technology)
·
Analysis of the impact of the PATRIOT Act on the city of
Mountain View (Professor Cuéllar, Stanford University)
·
Position of the National League of Cities on the PATRIOT
Act
·
Public forum on the PATRIOT Act in Los Altos (Los Altos
Town Crier)
Los Altos Voices for Peace fears
the chilling effect on democratic debate and everyday life that the Act
threatens us with: extended sneak-and-peak searches, government access to our
private library and bookstore records, the setting aside of habeas corpus –
probable cause as a condition for secret searches, government access to
sensitive mental health, business, financial, and educational records,
requiring universities to collect and forward information on their students,
and allowing the Secretary of State broad powers to designate domestic groups
as “terrorist organizations”.
We are particularly concerned
about some of our most vulnerable groups – those who are recent immigrants to
the country. The Act grants the Attorney General the authority to subject
immigrants to indefinite detention or deportation even if no crime has been
committed.
What can the City of Los Altos do
to protect its interests and the interests of its residents in the face of the
PATRIOT Act? The following are a few, by no means the only, possibilities:
·
The Council can express its support for the position of the
National League of Cities in requesting amendments to the Act to restore
protections of fundamental civil liberties.
·
The Council can express its support for the Safety and
Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Act (HR 3352 and S 1709), the Protecting the Rights of
Individuals Act (S 1552), and the Freedom to Read Protection Act (HR 1157).
They are the main, broadly supported, bipartisan congressional proposals to
amend the PATRIOT Act. The Council can ask our congressional representatives to
help ensure passage.
·
The Council can request of Attorney General Ashcroft that
the PATRIOT Act be amended to protect civil liberties.
·
The Council can request regular reports from the Police
Department on searches initiated by federal enforcement agencies.
·
The Council can direct City employees and
contractors to contact the City Attorney if requested
by federal agencies to provide City records with
sensitive personal information.