USD Magazine, Winter 2002

Americans," says Ramsey. "In our present sit– uation, we do know there is a very clear dan– ger from some Middle Eastern co untry aliens who may be here. "A comprehensive ro und- up of all aliens today is still problematic ... but I actually chink che government has been fairly restrained," Ramsey adds. "To say char it's unfair to single our Islamic aliens for investi– gations misses the point. Lee's not lose sight of the face we were attacked by Islamic extremists." While the measures may be restrained under the current circumstances, some wonder how the law will be applied to groups or individuals suspected of terrorism in the future, such as anti-abortion extremists, white supremacists, militia groups or drug carrels. ''After al-Qaeda is defeated, who is going ro be the next set of terrorises we'll wiretap? Who is the next group of enemies of the state, and will they be as deserving as these?" wonders law Professor Mike Kelly. "And if it is easier for the government co identify possi– ble suspects because of their racial character– istics, shouldn't the government need less extraordinary measures, not more, to find these people?" Kelly, who specializes in contract law, says the current sicuation has parallels to the lace 1960s, when Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy declared war on organized crime and succeeded in getting passage of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Ace, or RICO. Designed to bring down mob bosses by dismantling their financial empires, the law is used today to target business owners and ochers not associ– ated with the Mafia. "For example, RICO prosecutes mail fraud, and if you send two different letters with lies in chem, then yo u're a racketeer, and you can be sued and found gui lry under RICO," says Kelly. "Congress was chinking Mafia, but litigation is now mail and wire fraud, which surely wasn't what Congress had in mind. Bue 20 years have gone by and we haven't been able to change the law." Justice Behind Closed Doors? Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the anti-terrorism measures to dace is Bush's order ro cry suspected terrorises in mili tary tribunals. Carter, who spoke in December at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Jusrice inaugural peace conference, said the United Scares' reputation as a defender of continued on page 16

Some changes, such as allowing federal agents to cap any phone used by a suspect anywhere in the United States, and allowing judges to issue nationwide search warrants to compel Internet providers to turn over e-mail from suspected terrorists, have prompted lit– tle debate. Law enforcement had sought chose changes prior to Sept. 11 to keep up with technology - previously, agents had to get a warrant to cap each phone a suspect used, a burden considering che availabiliry of cell phones. "And with e-mail, when we would try to crack it, we would have to gee a separate warrant in each judicial district," says San D iego FBI Director Bill Gore, a 1969 USD graduate. "When you consider chat e-mails can bounce between fo ur or five different Internet service providers, you see che problems. " Who Will Be Next 'Terrorists?' Bue chose expanded powers, when combined with the law that allows the Juscice Department to detain any non-citizen suspected of terror– ism for up to six months without being charged, have prompted comparisons to the United Scates detention of Japanese– Americans in guarded camps during World War II. The detentions were upheld by the Supreme Court, a decision most legal schol– ars say was wrong and based on the political climate at the time. "The premise of the internment of Japanese-Americans was chat they posed a securiry threat, bur there was no real threat of sabotage or disloyalry from Japanese-

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Wf N TER 2002