Trampling Human Rights in the War on Terror: Implications to the Sociology of Denial

Critical criminology has greatly benefited fromthe concept of moral panic, which is a helpfulframework for understanding immigration‘‘reform’’ and the treatment of immigrants –especially in relation to concerns aboutterrorism. In response to the events ofSeptember 11, 2001, the United Statesgovernment swiftly produced legislationintended to protect homeland security,culminating in the USA Patriot Act. Whilemainstream political leaders supported the newlaw, many legal experts expressed concernsabout its expansive powers as serious dangersto immigrants’ rights and civil liberties.Among those concerns are controversial tacticsinvolving ethnic profiling, detentions, andgovernment secrecy. This article examinescritically the nature of those forms of humanrights violations while elaborating on thecontradictions in the war on terror. ApplyingCohen’s sociology of denial – how literal,interpretive, and implicatory denial perpetuatelong-term social problems – developments areinterpreted conceptually, contributing to adeeper understanding of growing threats tohuman rights.