Executive Order 12256 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.29)

Executive Order 12256—Census Statistics on Legal Immigrants

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Monday, December 15, 1980

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2 min read (326 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

This executive order, signed by President Jimmy Carter on 1980-12-15, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Census Statistics on Legal Immigrants." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: An early statesman would view this measure favorably under Article II, Section 3 (the Take Care Clause). The President operates strictly within the ambit of executing established laws and supervising departmental subordinates, respecting the supremacy of the legislative branch without fabricating novel statutory obligations.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ The Bureau of the Census and the Department of Commerce shall designate the estimates so supplied as official statistics.

▪ Beginning with fiscal year 1981, all departments and agencies of the Executive Branch shall utilize the estimates furnished under Sec.

▪ The Bureau of the Census shall supply the estimates required by Sec.

▪ 1101 for States within 30 days of the issuance of this Order and shall supply all other estimates as soon as is practicable.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Total Words

326

2,058 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

14.9

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.29

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 12256, Jimmy Carter (Dec 15, 1980). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12256-census-statistics-legal-immigrants.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America, I hereby determine that States, counties and local units of general purpose government have been significantly affected by major population changes within the meaning of Section 118 of Public Law 96-369 if there reside within such jurisdictions at least fifty legal immigrants from Cuba or Haiti who arrived between April 1, 1980, and September 30, 1980. Pursuant to Section 118 of Public Law 96-369 and other applicable law, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1-101. The Bureau of the Census shall designate, as of September 30, 1980, those affected States, counties, or local units of general purpose government described above and shall supply estimates of the total number of such Cuban and Haitian immigrants to the President and to all departments and agencies of the Executive Branch which administer laws which authorize benefits according to population or population characteristics. The Bureau of the Census and the Department of Commerce shall designate the estimates so supplied as official statistics. 1-102. Beginning with fiscal year 1981, all departments and agencies of the Executive Branch shall utilize the estimates furnished under Sec. 1-101 for all formulas affecting the allocation of funds in the administration of laws distributing benefits according to population or other population characteristics, unless such utilization would be contrary to law. 1-103. The Bureau of the Census shall supply the estimates required by Sec. 1101 for States within 30 days of the issuance of this Order and shall supply all other estimates as soon as is practicable. 1-104. To the extent permitted by law, all departments and agencies of the Executive Branch shall cooperate with the Bureau of the Census in discharging the functions under this Order. 1-105. This Order shall expire when the Bureau of the Census issues 1981 population estimates. JIMMY CARTER The White House, December 15, 1980. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:07 p.m., December 16, 1980]