Washington Post
President Petrelli Signs Mandatory Evolved Relocation Executive Order
By Alison Eilperin, October 16 at 4:21 PM
President Petrelli signed an executive order Monday instructing his deputies to execute “a strategic plan to relocate all Tier-1 and above Evolved from private residences to "planned communities"” such as New York City's Eltingville Blocks on Staten Island.
The directive comes a day after the Department of Evolved Affairs published its first assessment of the country’s Registered Evolved population density report indicating the geographic placement of Tier-1 Evolved and above, an analysis the agency began in 2010. The report concludes that based on data collected from law enforcement from across the country, the population density of Tier-1 Evolved and above among the Non-Evolved populace has directly contributed to a rise in violent crimes and disease, including the spread of the lethal H5N10 virus.
“The United States must not remain stagnant on change for the security of its citizens,” Petrelli said in a statement. “Unlike past relocation actions that were based around ethnic or national lines, this is strictly a move for the betterment of national security and public safety. We simply cannot risk further incidents like those that have plagued our cities for the last five years."
"To our allies and partners around the word, please understand this order is part of our ongoing efforts to eliminate vulnerabilities that Evolved terrorists can and will exploit for destructive ends," Secretary of Defense Gerard Rutland said after the executive order's signing.
The administration's attempt at a do-over comes after legal challenges that put the original policy on hold. A three-judge panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously to uphold a federal judge’s restraining order on the relocation act in early February, delaying the executive order’s implementation.
Repeated delays in releasing the new relocation order, and even the phased-in implementation of the new order, run counter to original calls from the White House for rapid implementation in the face of looming threats.
White House Chief of Staff Antonia Hesser told NBC's Diane O'Leary in January that a "grace period" for implementation would only spur bad actors to go to ground sooner.
A senior DHS official said Monday on a background briefing call that there was "no daylight" between the White House and executive agencies on the ban's revision and that the Homeland Security, Justice and State departments have been working "in sync" with the White House on the revisions.
The more traditional, controlled rollout is a departure from the unveiling of the original order, when government agencies and members of Congress reportedly were not asked for input until very late in the process.
Before the court's ruling, Homeland Security Secretary Gregory Armond told the House Committee on Homeland Security that he "should have delayed [the original executive order] so that I could talk to members of Congress, particularly to the leadership of committees like this, to prepare them for what was coming."
A senior Justice Department official said Monday that while officials were expecting challenges, they still believe the original decisions against the policy to be "misguided."
The original executive order was revoked as part of the new executive order, a departure from previous plans from the White House to continue fighting for that order on its merits.
"We're going to keep going with that decision. We will phase in another executive order within the week that dovetails with this legislation," Petrelli said at a late-Monday press conference. White House Press Secretary Elisabeth Warren echoed that strategy in a briefing with reporters at the time.
Although critics cheered the court cases that stayed the original order, its biggest proponent remained unfazed. "The rollout will be perfect," Petrelli maintained.
The executive order is expected to go into effect on October 20th with notices of relocation going out to all Tier-1 Evolved by the 18th. Evolved to be Relocated will be moved without their possessions to furnished residences, followed by a second wave of movement of possessions in December in order to facilitate expedited transition.