Alexis Duarte

Mr. Loh

Period: 2

10/18/17

Fourth Amendment: Right of Search and Seizure Regulated

The fourth amendment is supposed to protect the right of the people in remaining secure

in their homes, persons, and papers against unreasonable searches and seizures. The only

acceptable cases for a search and seizure require a warrant under oath or affirmation,

description of the place being searched, and the things or persons being seized. Although the

Fourth Amendment sounds ideal and for the most part positive, it doesn’t necessarily keep its

promises and is therefore unnecessary and non-protecting.

In today’s society, privacy is very questionable. With our technological advances,

security in one’s individual life is always exposed and this is because the government is always

monitoring us. They essentially spy on us as citizens, and this is done ​without ​warrants, ​without

a probable cause, and ​without ​restraint. WIth these unjustified actions alone, the government

has already gone against what our Constitution had sought out to protect.

Aside from the constant spying, the government has also made other “tweaks” to the

Constitution. These “tweaks” include the change in policies for “routine border searches” and

the change from needing a warrant to now only a subpoenas. In changing the policies for

“routine border searches”, the government has made it so that the meaning of “border” is a lot

more broad. Unlike before, entering the U.S. from abroad does not legally label you as present

until the DHS grants you access. Meaning that those luggage searches and such (non warrant

searches) are technically non-Constitutional zones. The other example comes down to no

longer requiring searches to be made through the permission of a warrant. Now, all that’s
needed is a subpoena. The difference is that subpoenas are just government ordered issues to

a citizen or organization to do something, making these permissions much more flexible.

In conclusion, the Fourth Amendment has become a lot more flawed than it’s original

purpose. It is for these reasons and several more that I believe this Amendment should either

be more specified or abolished as a whole. Americans deserve to be respected and aware of

changes in policies, the government creating these “loopholes” is unfair and in a sense

secretive. We the people deserve more protection and more truth.