Civil Rights and Homeland Security
This seminar examines diverse civil rights and civil liberties issues raised by homeland security activities relating to immigration; domestic terrorism; transportation security; and, depending on the interests of the students, disaster preparedness, recovery, and response. For example, the class will explore border and airport screening, suspicious activity reporting, the involvement of state and local law enforcement officials in immigration enforcement, and other similar topics. (Some of the coverage is flexible; interests of members of the class will be taken into account.) Students are expected to participate actively in all seminar sessions, and each student will write two very short response papers during the term, and one substantial research paper at the end of the term. The research paper will address the legal and policy issues raised by one homeland security policy choice or activity.