Terror in Nebraska: PATRIOT Act abuses.THE USA PATRIOT Act USA PATRIOT Act [Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorists], 2001, U.S. gave law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). unprecedented and controversial authority to "sneak and peek" into people's homes and businesses without immediately notifying them. Actually, "sneak and peek" is an incomplete phrase: Since cops can legally commandeer com·man·deer tr.v. com·man·deered, com·man·deer·ing, com·man·deers 1. To force into military service. 2. To seize for military use; confiscate. 3. To take arbitrarily or by force. property under the provision, a more accurate term would be "sneak and peek and seize." By whatever name, this new power was supposed to help stop terrorism before it started. That's why it's funny that it's being used so often in Nebraska. Using the Freedom of Information Act, The New York Sun obtained records of sneak-and-peeks dating from the PATRIOT Act's passage to April 2003. It discovered that investigators in the most terrorist-targeted areas of the country--Manhattan, Los Angeles, D.C.--hadn't used the authority even once. The regions that used it the most? Eastern Virginia (eight times), northeastern California (six), and Nebraska (five). Don't worry, Omaha readers: You didn't narrowly escape a terrorist attack. The Sun found that the authority "was used in investigations of credit card fraud Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a credit card or any similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account. , methamphetamine distribution, and immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. related violations." |
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