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Within the United States, Congress passed and President Bush signed the Homeland Security Act of 2002, creating the Department
of Homeland Security, representing the largest restructuring of the U.S. government in contemporary history. Congress passed
the USA PATRIOT Act, stating that it would help detect and prosecute terrorism and other crimes. Civil liberties groups have
criticized the PATRIOT Act, saying that it allows law enforcement to invade the privacy of citizens and eliminates judicial
oversight of law-enforcement and domestic intelligence gathering. The Bush Administration also invoked 9/11 as the reason
to initiate a secret National Security Agency operation, "to eavesdrop on telephone and e-mail communications between
the United States and people overseas without a warrant."
Following the attacks, 80,000 Arab and Muslim immigrants were fingerprinted and registered under the Alien Registration
Act of 1940. 8,000 Arab and Muslim men were interviewed, and 5,000 foreign nationals were detained under Joint Congressional
Resolution 107-40 authorizing the use of military force "to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against
the United States."
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