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Executive Order 13404 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.66) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 13404—Task Force on New Americans

George W. Bush George W. Bush
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Wednesday, June 7, 2006
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3 min read (625 words)
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71 Fed. Reg. 33593

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (625 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The Task Force shall be limited to the following members or employees designated by them at no lower than the Assistant Secretary level or its equivalent: (i) the Secretary of Homeland Security, who shall serve as Chair; (ii) the Secretary of State; (iii) the Secretary of the Treasury; (iv) the Secretary of Defense; (v) the Attorney General; (vi) the Secretary of Agriculture; (vii) the Secretary of Commerce; (viii) the Secretary of Labor; (ix) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (x) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (xi) the Secretary of Education; (xii) such other officers or employees of the Department of Homeland Security as the Secretary may from time to time designate; and (xiii) such other officers of the…

View all 3 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President George W. Bush on June 7, 2006, this order concerns Task Force on New Americans. The Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) shall immediately establish within the Department of Homeland Security (Department) a Task Force on New Americans (Task Force). Sec. 2. Membership and Operation. (a) The Task Force shall be limited to the following members or employees designated by them at no lower than the Assistant Secretary level or its equivalent: (i) the Secretary of Homeland Security, who shall…

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Membership and Operation

The Task Force shall be limited to the following members or employees designated by them at no lower than the Assistant Secretary level or its equivalent: (i) the Secretary of Homeland Security, who shall serve as Chair; (ii) the Secretary of State; (iii) the Secretary of the Treasury; (iv) the Secretary of Defense; (v) the Attorney General; (vi) the Secretary of Agriculture; (vii) the Secretary of Commerce; (viii) the Secretary of Labor; (ix) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (x) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (xi) the Secretary of Education; (xii) such other officers or employees of the Department of Homeland Security as the Secretary may from time to time designate; and (xiii) such other officers of the…

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Functions

Consistent with applicable law, the Task Force shall: (a) provide direction to executive departments and agencies (agencies) concerning the integration into American society of America's legal immigrants, particularly through instruction in English, civics, and history; (b) promote public-private partnerships that will encourage businesses to offer English and civics education to workers; (c) identify ways to expand English and civics instruction for legal immigrants, including through faith-based, community, and other groups, and ways to promote volunteer community service; and (d) make recommendations to the President, through the Secretary, from time to time regarding: (i) actions to enhance cooperation among agencies on the…

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Administration

To the extent permitted by law, the Department shall provide the funding and administrative support the Task Force needs to implement this order, as determined by the Secretary.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Immigration & Border Security 🏷️ National Security & Defense 🏷️ Economy & Finance
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
📐

Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
46 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
625
4,095 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
25.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.66
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (4 sections)
Sec. 1: EstablishmentSec. 2: Membership and OperationSec. 3: FunctionsSec. 4: Administration

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to strengthen the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security and Federal, State, and local agencies to help legal immigrants embrace the common core of American civic culture, learn our common language, and fully become Americans, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Establishment. The Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) shall immediately establish within the Department of Homeland Security (Department) a Task Force on New Americans (Task Force).

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Membership and Operation. (a) The Task Force shall be limited to the following members or employees designated by them at no lower than the Assistant Secretary level or its equivalent: (i) the Secretary of Homeland Security, who shall serve as Chair; (ii) the Secretary of State; (iii) the Secretary of the Treasury; (iv) the Secretary of Defense; (v) the Attorney General; (vi) the Secretary of Agriculture; (vii) the Secretary of Commerce; (viii) the Secretary of Labor; (ix) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (x) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (xi) the Secretary of Education; (xii) such other officers or employees of the Department of Homeland Security as the Secretary may from time to time designate; and (xiii) such other officers of the United States as the Secretary may designate from time to time, with the concurrence of the respective heads of departments and agencies concerned. (b) The Secretary shall convene and preside at meetings of the Task Force, direct its work, and as appropriate, establish and direct subgroups of the Task Force that shall consist exclusively of Task Force members. The Secretary shall designate an official of the Department to serve as the Executive Secretary of the Task Force, and the Executive Secretary shall head the staff assigned to the Task Force.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Functions. Consistent with applicable law, the Task Force shall: (a) provide direction to executive departments and agencies (agencies) concerning the integration into American society of America's legal immigrants, particularly through instruction in English, civics, and history; (b) promote public-private partnerships that will encourage businesses to offer English and civics education to workers; (c) identify ways to expand English and civics instruction for legal immigrants, including through faith-based, community, and other groups, and ways to promote volunteer community service; and (d) make recommendations to the President, through the Secretary, from time to time regarding: (i) actions to enhance cooperation among agencies on the integration of legal immigrants into American society; (ii) actions to enhance cooperation among Federal, State, and local authorities responsible for the integration of legal immigrants; (iii) changes in rules, regulations, or policy to improve the effective integration of legal immigrants into American society; and (iv) proposed legislation relating to the integration of legal immigrants into American society.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Administration. (a) To the extent permitted by law, the Department shall provide the funding and administrative support the Task Force needs to implement this order, as determined by the Secretary. (b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) authority granted by law to an agency or the head thereof; or (ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals. (c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (d) This order is intended to improve the internal management of the Federal Government. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, instrumentalities, officers, employees, agents, or any other person. George W. Bush The White House, June 7, 2006.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 13,404, 71 Fed. Reg. 33,593 (June 7, 2006).