Today marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, which by order of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, paved the way for the incarceration of United States citizens of Japanese descent. I have talked about the impact of this EO before, both in a personal sense and in a policy sense. But it never should be overlooked that there was a real, human cost to EO 9066 – which is why the Japanese American community still marks this day in solemn remembrance.

And on a personal note, there are fewer conversations more awkward and heartbreaking than having to look your child in the eye and tell them, yes, if EO 9066 had been put into effect in her lifetime, she too would have been sent to an internment camp.

But, given the anniversary of the day, and the current debate over the use of executive orders, it is well past time to curtail the power of the president to issue executive orders.

I have been staring extensively at Article II of the Constitution, and the words “executive order” never appears there. The concept of the executive order was granted by judicial interpretation out of Section 3, Clause 5.