Republicans

National Security
Immigration is the primary topic among Republicans regarding national security measures. This stems from the nation's border problems, which encompass terrorism, criminal gangs, and drug cartels, all of which are believed to threaten national security. Also in the Republicans' national platform is the statement that there has not been a single repeat of the attacks in 2001 on our soil, though its combat is not mentioned. Actually, the Patriot Act is never mentioned in the party's national platform, even though national security is addressed as a serious issue.

Patriot Act
The Patriot Act originally received a wide majority from both Democrats and Republicans. It is evident that Republicans continue to agree with the act's provisions and governmental extensions, as they never once broach the topic of the Patriot Act in their national platform, the document that lists all their beliefs and stances. In short, Republicans have far fewer issues with the Patriot Act in its present state. They have not made an action recently to change or amend any part of it in recent years, undoubtedly due to their party's aforementioned stance on heavier national security. Nevertheless, during the time of renewal of the act in 2005, the Senate addressed some changes that restricted even more civil liberties, but it was passed after the vote of Congress and the approval of the president.

Action
Since most of the changes in the Patriot Act have come from Democrats, the only action performed by Republicans regarding its extensions is to block these changes and continue its grant of authority to the government. Additionally, the Republican John Ashcroft, the architect of the Patriot Act, has stated that the activities being performed in places such as Guantanamo Bay are humane because it is "an act of mercy to detain" those fight against you. Essentially, Ashcroft, like most other Republicans, put national security above anything else.