{"id":82789,"date":"2021-09-09T20:27:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T00:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=82789"},"modified":"2022-08-01T15:05:14","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T19:05:14","slug":"still-casting-a-shadow","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2021\/still-casting-a-shadow\/","title":{"rendered":"Still Casting A Shadow"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin record-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-media-focus-right-top has-text-position-x-left\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2000\" height=\"1397\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"towers\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-636x444.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-1024x715.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-768x536.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-1536x1073.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-1183x826.jpg 1183w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-976x682.jpg 976w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-1477x1032.jpg 1477w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-1891x1321.jpg 1891w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-492x344.jpg 492w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-757x529.jpg 757w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-985x688.jpg 985w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-1515x1058.jpg 1515w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-1953x1364.jpg 1953w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/towers-cover-1432x1000.jpg 1432w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">By Rebecca Beyer<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Feature<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStill Casting A <strong>Shadow<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\"><strong>TWO DECADES AFTER THE DEVASTATING TERROR ATTACKS OF <em>SEPTEMBER 11, 2001<\/em>, THE UNITED STATES IS STILL GRAPPLING WITH HOW TO BALANCE CIVIL LIBERTIES AND NATIONAL SECURITY.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar record-prepress-layout-metabar wp-prepress-component-metabar-hide\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/authors\/rebecca-beyer\/\">Rebecca Beyer<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"intro\"><strong>After the terrorist attacks of September 2001<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2021\/mitrano-public-perspective\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Catherine Mitrano<\/a> (CAS\u201989, LAW\u201989) was among a select group of federal attorneys tasked with creating the newly authorized US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a cabinet-level entity that consolidated all or part of nearly two dozen autonomous agencies, including US Customs, the Transportation Security Administration, the Secret Service, and the Department of Agriculture.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a massive undertaking, described in the press as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2016\/10\/bush-creates-office-of-homeland-security-oct-8-2001-229212\">largest reorganization<\/a> of the federal government since the Department of Defense\u2019s formation in 1947.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it took less than a month. After Congress passed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/homeland-security-act-2002\">Homeland Security Act<\/a> in November 2002, the actual work of creating the agency began. Mitrano\u2019s first detail\u2014or temporary assignment\u2014from the US Coast Guard, where she worked on everything from labor and employment issues to administrative law matters, started on December 30, 2002. DHS began operating on January 24. Mitrano\u2019s detail was extended again and again and again. She never went back to the coast guard.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/21-1184-RECORDMITRANO-030_fx-1-e1630334187553.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-83034\" width=\"280\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/21-1184-RECORDMITRANO-030_fx-1-e1630334187553.jpg 808w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/21-1184-RECORDMITRANO-030_fx-1-e1630334187553-768x961.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/21-1184-RECORDMITRANO-030_fx-1-e1630334187553-660x826.jpg 660w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/21-1184-RECORDMITRANO-030_fx-1-e1630334187553-545x682.jpg 545w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/21-1184-RECORDMITRANO-030_fx-1-e1630334187553-275x344.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/21-1184-RECORDMITRANO-030_fx-1-e1630334187553-423x529.jpg 423w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/21-1184-RECORDMITRANO-030_fx-1-e1630334187553-550x688.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/21-1184-RECORDMITRANO-030_fx-1-e1630334187553-799x1000.jpg 799w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px\" \/><figcaption><strong>CATHERINE MITRANO<\/strong><br>(CAS\u201989, LAW\u201989)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>That something so huge could happen so fast was nothing short of a bureaucratic miracle, she says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe federal government moved like it had never moved at any time before that date, and it hasn\u2019t moved like that at any time since,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Indeed, changes in response to 9\/11 came quickly. But what is most remarkable about those changes is how permanent they have become. In the name of security, the United States strengthened its borders, its surveillance capabilities, and the power of its presidency. Looking back on two decades of post\u20139\/11 policies, Mitrano and a trio of Boston University School of Law professors reflect on the impact those changes have had on the United States and its people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Streamlining US Security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>DHS was created, in part, to streamline communication-sharing between intelligence and law enforcement agencies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere were threats throughout the summer leading up to 9\/11 that many organizations knew part of, but no one had the whole picture,\u201d Mitrano explains. \u201cOnce that picture was synthesized, it was very clear that our level of readiness should have been at a higher state.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DHS was designed to house all the components of homeland security in one place. <a href=\"https:\/\/2001-2009.state.gov\/documents\/organization\/72027.pdf\">Among other accomplishments<\/a>, it entered into agreements to screen cargo containers bound for the US, identified critical infrastructure protection roles, and expanded its computer-based counterterrorism communication network across the country.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-style-large special-quote image-bg\"><p>\u201cThe day before 9\/11, <span style=\"highlight\">our biggest security threat was not terrorism; it was cybersecurity<\/span>. [And today,] our main security threat is cybersecurity&#8230;&#8221;<\/p><cite>\u2014AHMED GHAPPOUR&nbsp;<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image img-float-right\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/hand-1-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-83180\" width=\"522\" height=\"542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/hand-1-1.png 363w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/hand-1-1-331x344.png 331w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 522px) 100vw, 522px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe needed to have some sort of single point of accountability,\u201d Mitrano says. \u201cThe federal government has become more nimble as a whole in responding to crosscutting challenges, whatever they may be.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Associate Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/ahmed-ghappour\/\">AHMED GHAPPOUR<\/a>, however, one irony of the response to 9\/11 is that, in an effort to keep people safe from hijacked planes and bombs, the United States has arguably made itself more vulnerable to a potentially even more pressing threat: cyberattacks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe day before 9\/11, our biggest security threat was not terrorism; it was cybersecurity,\u201d Ghappour says. And today, \u201cour main security threat is cybersecurity,&nbsp;especially given our dependence on data, our interconnectivity, and the artificial intelligence that\u2019s being injected everywhere. All of these things are subject to hacking. All of these things will necessarily be made more vulnerable in a mass surveillance state.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ghappour\u2019s personal and professional life were forever altered by 9\/11. That day, he was scheduled to have his US citizenship interview in New Jersey. He drove his sister to her company\u2019s Morristown location and then heard on Howard Stern\u2019s (CGS&#8217;74, COM&#8217;76) radio show that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center building where she normally worked. The siblings\u2019 mother, who worked near the towers, had to evacuate the area. When she finally called her children, it wasn\u2019t to let them know she was safe; it was to ask if Ghappour had made his interview. She was already anticipating a harder life ahead for their family, which is of Egyptian descent.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-83099\" width=\"257\" height=\"385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-424x636.jpg 424w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-551x826.jpg 551w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-455x682.jpg 455w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-688x1032.jpg 688w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-881x1321.jpg 881w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-229x344.jpg 229w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-353x529.jpg 353w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-459x688.jpg 459w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-705x1058.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-909x1364.jpg 909w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel-667x1000.jpg 667w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/17-1499-LAWHEAD2-023_pixel.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 257px) 100vw, 257px\" \/><figcaption><strong>AHMED GHAPPOUR<\/strong> <br>BU LAW ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cShe was like, \u2018Go swear in right now!\u2019\u201d Ghappour remembers. \u201cIt\u2019s not like Arab Americans and Muslim Americans were strangers to racism.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 9\/11 attacks and the resulting \u201cwar on terror\u201d led Ghappour to the law. In 2004, he left his job as an engineer at a technology company in the Bay Area to attend law school. While an associate at Orrick, he worked on a <em>pro bono <\/em>case involving a Yemeni detainee at Guant\u00e1namo Bay. From there, he took a job as an attorney at Reprieve UK, resettling former inmates of the military prison. Next, he joined a civil rights and criminal defense firm in Seattle. Over the years, he represented more than 40 Guant\u00e1namo Bay prisoners, none of whom had any ties to the attacks of 9\/11, which was the justification for opening the prison in the first place.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ghappour says one of the most drastic post\u20139\/11 shifts in the always-precarious balance between national security and civil liberties was the creation of the warrantless <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intelligence.gov\/index.php\/ic-on-the-record-database\/results\/778-the-department-of-justice-releases-inspectors-general-reports-concerning-collection-activities-authorized-by-president-george-w-bush-after-the-attacks-of-september-11,-2001\">TERRORIST SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM<\/a> (TSP).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image overlay\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/iStock-179789101.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-83388\" width=\"304\" height=\"196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/iStock-179789101.png 660w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/iStock-179789101-636x411.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/iStock-179789101-500x323.png 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-aside record-block-editorial-aside alignright\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong> GHAPPOUR SAYS ONE OF THE MOST DRASTIC POST\u20139\/11 SHIFTS IN THE BALANCE BETWEEN NATIONAL SECURITY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES WAS THE CREATION OF <em>THE TERRORIST SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe TSP was a temporary sort of surge on surveillance that became permanent over time,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is systematic surveillance by certain topics or selectors. There\u2019s a huge difference between surveilling associates of Bin Laden and capturing the communications of people who type the words \u2018Bin Laden\u2019 into a search engine.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ghappour says the potential for civil liberties to be \u201cusurped in the cybersecurity space\u201d is huge.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s just the nature of securing computers,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s so much more data-intensive than anyone can imagine, and most people don\u2019t understand the actual issues involved or their magnitude because of the technical complexity.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take the No Fly List created after 9\/11, which the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/06\/us\/politics\/no-fly-list-lawsuit.html?searchResultPosition=5\">American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil rights organizations have challenged for years.<\/a> Being stopped at the airport and prevented from boarding a plane is a tangible harm, whereas someone might not even be aware of how their actions are being thwarted or manipulated online.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Battle at the Borders<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another area that changed dramatically after 9\/11 is immigration law. In the days and months before the attacks, President GEORGE W. BUSH was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.migrationpolicy.org\/pubs\/RMSG-post-9-11policy.pdf\">advocating for bipartisan immigration reforms<\/a> that seem almost impossible to imagine today: a temporary worker program, the Dream Act, and a process by which most unauthorized immigrants could obtain lawful permanent residence status without leaving the country. On September 6, 2001, Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox pledged to complete a deal between their countries by the end of that year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Five days later, everything changed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe became a country that sees enforcement and detention as the default,\u201d says Clinical Associate Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/sarah-r-sherman-stokes\/\">SARAH SHERMAN-STOKES<\/a>, associate director of the Immigrants\u2019 Rights &amp; Human Trafficking Program, who was a first-year college student in 2001.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In place of reform came retaliation. One example: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/immigrants-rights\/immigrants-rights-and-detention\/national-security-entry-exit-registration\">NATIONAL SECURITY ENTRY-EXIT REGISTRATION SYSTEM<\/a>, known as NSEERS, created in 2002. The program required men over the age of 16 from 25 countries\u2014most of which were predominantly Muslim\u2014to be fingerprinted and photographed upon arrival and to report to US immigration officials every 12 months thereafter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was a deeply discriminatory policy couched in counterterrorism terms,\u201d Sherman-Stokes says. \u201cAnd understandably, it completely eroded any trust Muslim Americans may have had in the government.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Department of Homeland Security removed the designated countries from the NSEERS program in 2011 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/other\/dhs-announcement-regarding-removal-nseers-regulations\">dismantled the regulations entirely in 2016<\/a>, calling them \u201credundant\u201d and \u201cobsolete.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-728x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-83098\" width=\"251\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-728x1024.jpg 728w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-452x636.jpg 452w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-768x1081.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-587x826.jpg 587w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-485x682.jpg 485w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-733x1032.jpg 733w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-939x1321.jpg 939w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-376x529.jpg 376w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-489x688.jpg 489w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-752x1058.jpg 752w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-969x1364.jpg 969w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel-711x1000.jpg 711w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Sherman-Stokes.Sarah16_pixel.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 251px) 100vw, 251px\" \/><figcaption><strong>SARAH SHERMAN-STOKES<\/strong><br>BU LAW CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>But the problem with implementing such processes in the first place is that they seem to pave the way for similarly discriminatory processes. When he took office, President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/trump-muslim-registry\/story?id=43639946\">considered a Muslim registration system<\/a>; instead, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/01\/31\/us\/politics\/trump-travel-ban.html\">issued a ban on travel from predominantly Muslim countries<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeople say, \u2018How could this happen here?\u2019\u201d says Sherman-Stokes, rattling off a list of other racist and xenophobic US policies, including the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the practice of forcing Native American children off reservations and into boarding schools  where&nbsp;many faced abuse and all&nbsp;were prohibited even from speaking their own languages. \u201cThe answer is: of course this can happen here. Institutionalized racism and xenophobia were always baked into US immigration law but were reinvigorated after 9\/11.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Precedent for a Powerful President&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, in many ways, 9\/11 was a precipitating event for ideas and beliefs long held, already underway, or lying dangerously dormant in the United States.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/robert-l-tsai\/\">ROBERT TSAI<\/a>, who was working at the ACLU in 2001 and has written recently about the impact of 9\/11 on US policy and politics, says one trend accelerated by 9\/11 was the expansion of the US executive branch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The presidency was \u201csupposed to be a restrained office,\u201d Tsai says. But, over time, \u201caverage Americans began to look to the president as the primary constitutional actor who will keep the country safe.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image img-float-left\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/floating-head-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-83172\" width=\"506\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/floating-head-1-331x344.png 331w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/floating-head-1-509x529.png 509w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 506px) 100vw, 506px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Encouraging that view have been scholars who argue for a so-called unitary executive. When some of those scholars joined the Bush administration, those&nbsp;theories were put into practice, leading to the Terrorist Surveillance Program, Guant\u00e1namo Bay, and an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/other\/fact-sheet-extraordinary-rendition\">expanded use of extraordinary rendition<\/a>\u2014the process by which a government takes a person from one country to another to circumvent laws on torture, detention, or interrogation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey created this legal infrastructure that allowed the government to broadly reconsider constitutional commitments to privacy and of course bodily integrity and speech,\u201d says Tsai. \u201cPart of that trend has sidelined Congress as the place where these conversations are supposed to be happening.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yalelawjournal.org\/forum\/manufactured-emergencies\">Manufactured Emergencies<\/a>,\u201d a 2020 <em>Yale Law Journal <\/em>article, Tsai argues a unitary executive makes the US people vulnerable to manipulation, including the creation of a constant state of crisis to justify governance outside democratic norms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn that environment, it\u2019s very easy to assert power and have no accountability,\u201d Tsai says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once established, unitary power is also hard to relinquish. Tsai points out that although President Barack Obama took some steps to reverse his predecessor\u2019s \u201cwar on terror\u201d policies, he likewise embraced an expansive view of his office, including by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/blog\/superforecasters-software-and-spies-conversation-jason-matheny\">legitimizing drone strikes<\/a> without Congressional authorization.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you believe somebody has dignity, you\u2019re saying they should be treated as an equal member of our community,\u201d Tsai explains. \u201cBut when they\u2019re finding ways to justify things like grabbing people in foreign countries for extraordinary rendition, there\u2019s no equality, no dignity, no fairness.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>A Societal Dilemma<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-803x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-83101\" width=\"268\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-803x1024.jpg 803w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-499x636.jpg 499w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-768x979.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-648x826.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-535x682.jpg 535w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-809x1032.jpg 809w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-270x344.jpg 270w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-415x529.jpg 415w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-540x688.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-830x1058.jpg 830w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx-784x1000.jpg 784w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/08\/Robert-Tsai-headshot_fx.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 268px) 100vw, 268px\" \/><figcaption><strong>ROBERT TSAI&nbsp;<\/strong><br>BU LAW&nbsp;PROFESSOR&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, the burdens of increased surveillance and detention have been borne almost entirely by communities of color in this country, which may be one reason people in power have looked the other way as civil liberties have taken a backseat to security concerns. But now that the Biden administration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/04\/us\/politics\/domestic-terrorism-biden.html\">has stepped up funding and resources to prevent domestic extremism in this country<\/a>, including by white supremacists, that may change.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>White males \u201care a very enfranchised group of people in the United States,\u201d Ghappour says. \u201cThere might be more hesitancy to undermine civil liberties now.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mitrano was on guard against the potential abuse of government power during her time at DHS and has been throughout her career.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy mother is Japanese,\u201d she says. \u201cMy father was a serviceman. Growing up, I became entranced by stories about the internment of people who looked like myself after World War II. How horrible is it that someone could just label me not-American.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left is-style-large special-quote\"><p>&#8220;Institutionalized racism and xenophobia were always baked into US immigration law but were reinvigorated after 9\/11.\u201d<\/p><cite><strong>\u2014SARAH SHERMAN-STOKES&nbsp;<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>DHS oversees or oversaw some of the post\u20139\/11 policies that faced criticism from civil liberties and human rights advocates, including aspects of the ban on travel from Muslim countries and the No Fly List. Other policies took place outside the agency\u2019s realm: the FBI, which is not part of DHS, conducted an extensive surveillance campaign among Muslim American communities; and neither the CIA, which led extraordinary rendition, or the National Security Agency, which created the TPS, are under DHS\u2019 control.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of Mitrano\u2019s initiatives at DHS was establishing the agency\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/office-civil-rights-and-civil-liberties\">OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES<\/a>, which is charged with advocating for people\u2019s rights and investigating complaints filed by the public.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI had a personal motivation in making sure we did right by that part of the legislation, giving it the autonomy it needed,\u201d she says. \u201cWe were very focused on that in the early days.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now senior counsel to the general counsel at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Mitrano says DHS \u201con balance does more good than bad.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhere you stand on an issue depends on where you sit,\u201d she says. \u201cOn the one hand, it\u2019s good to have all the information in one place. On the other hand, information is only wonderful if it\u2019s used for good. Overall, our country is safer, but there\u2019s got to be a way to mitigate second- and third-order harms that come from amassing that much information and authority.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because priorities change at least as often as presidential administrations, Mitrano says the public must do the real work on these issues.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAdministrations are a reflection of society,\u201d she says. \u201cIf society is in a protectionist mode, an agency will be used in that mode; if it\u2019s in a more expansionist mode, it will support those ends as well. These are questions for society to ask itself. What do we prioritize? Ultimately, that\u2019s what the law will reflect.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image special-quote-2\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/crop-1200x630-patasha-3266158-1024x538.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-83432\" width=\"207\" height=\"108\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/crop-1200x630-patasha-3266158-1024x538.gif 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/crop-1200x630-patasha-3266158-636x334.gif 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/crop-1200x630-patasha-3266158-768x403.gif 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/crop-1200x630-patasha-3266158-992x521.gif 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/crop-1200x630-patasha-3266158-1200x628.gif 1200w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/crop-1200x630-patasha-3266158-500x263.gif 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/09\/crop-1200x630-patasha-3266158-1000x525.gif 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 207px) 100vw, 207px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:49px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:23% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"797\" height=\"1024\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-797x1024.jpg\" alt=\"The shadows of the World Trade Center towers with a text overlay reading &quot;Still Casting a Shadow&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-84107\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-797x1024.jpg 797w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-495x636.jpg 495w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-768x987.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-1195x1536.jpg 1195w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-643x826.jpg 643w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-531x682.jpg 531w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-803x1032.jpg 803w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-1028x1321.jpg 1028w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-268x344.jpg 268w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-412x529.jpg 412w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-535x688.jpg 535w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-823x1058.jpg 823w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-1061x1364.jpg 1061w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-1285x1652.jpg 1285w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover-778x1000.jpg 778w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2021\/10\/LAW-RecordF21-cover.jpg 1497w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 797px) 100vw, 797px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><br>FEATURED IN:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><em>The Record<\/em>, Fall 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/news-stories\/issues\/fall-2021\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See all stories<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After the terrorist attacks of September 2001, Catherine Mitrano (CAS\u201989, LAW\u201989) was among a select group of federal attorneys tasked with creating the newly authorized US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a cabinet-level entity that consolidated all or part of nearly two dozen autonomous agencies, including US Customs, the Transportation Security Administration, the Secret Service, and the Department of Agriculture. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11260,"featured_media":83691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"{\"post_id\":84083,\"hed\":\"Confronting Extremism\",\"dek\":\"Next Article\",\"class\":\"wp-block-editorial-billboard record-block-editorial-billboard 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