ABSTRACT
An executive order is a document issued by the president of the United States that has the force of law. In some cases, executive orders can threaten civil liberties, as occurred during World War II when the president ordered the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps. Presidents have used executive orders to create task forces, commissions, and advisory committees; to implement congressional statutes creating government agencies and authorizing their reorganization; and to promulgate rules governing agency personnel and procedures and public participation in federal agency decision-making. In Executive Order 9066, Franklin D. Roosevelt also relied upon his commander-in-chief power to create the War Relocation Authority, which assisted the military evacuations and operated the relocation- detention centers. The Court's decisions reminded President Harry Truman that he did not have unrestrained discretion in domestic affairs, even to further international military policy. Without congressional consent, the president's seizure order was a usurpation of legislative power.
