Though some of the changes simply involved administrative regulations, the Patriot Act’s overall effect was to erode the great pillars of liberty, such as habeas corpus , the right to recourse to an independent court whenever the state deprives an individual of his freedom. From an early date, the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba became the symbol of something unheard of: the arrest without trial of “illegal combatants” who are deprived of all human rights.
这些变化的大多数都体现在所谓的“美国爱国者法案”上。尽管某些变化仅仅涉及到行政规定，但是，爱国者法案的整体效果却是侵蚀自由的支柱，例如人身保护，也就是无论何时国家剥夺个人自由，均有向独立法院寻求救助的权利。很久以来，古巴关塔那摩湾的战俘营成为了闻所未闻的象征，也就是不经审判逮捕被剥夺所有人权的“非法战斗人员”。