	Introduction

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) establishes a system of rules as to which non-U.S. nationals (aliens) may enter the United States and under what conditions. Well-known examples of such decisions include grants of deferred action, protections granted under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The latter, TPS, is a statutory mechanism that allows immigration authorities to grant temporary protection from removal to aliens from countries experiencing upheaval or instability. Discretionary reprieves from removal do not, in other words, offer steadfast protection from removal, although they typically confer eligibility for work authorization, among other benefits. Sources of Executive Authority to Grant Discretionary Reprieves from Removal

The Executive's power to grant most of the existing forms of discretionary reprieves—including deferred action, DACA, and DED, among others—is typically attributed to its enforcement discretion: that is, its authority to determine the best method for enforcing federal immigration law. This enforcement discretion includes the authority to prioritize some cases over others to conserve resources or avoid unjust results. Finally, the INA gives DHS and immigration courts authority to grant some types of discretionary reprieves in conjunction with the removal process, including voluntary departure, stays of removal, and orders of supervision. Nature of Protections for Recipients: In General

The principal benefit of a discretionary reprieve is the temporary assurance it provides to an unlawfully present alien that he or she does not face imminent removal, even though his or her presence in the United States violates the INA. Aliens present in violation of the INA who receive discretionary reprieves remain technically removable under the inadmissibility or deportability grounds of the INA, and, except in the case of TPS recipients, do not have a statutory defense against removal based on the reprieve itself. As a consequence, time spent in the United States on deferred action, TPS, and most other types of reprieves does not count toward the accumulation of unlawful presence for purposes of the three- and ten-year bars on admission set forth in INA § 212(a)(9)(B)(i) (although a reprieve does not cure, for purposes of the bars, any unlawful presence already accumulated). It is often said that discretionary reprieves do not confer lawful immigration status. For example, aliens who receive discretionary reprieves generally cannot work legally unless DHS, in its discretion, authorizes them to do so (unlike LPRs, refugees, asylees, and some nonimmigrants); they have no statutorily established prospects of remaining permanently in the United States (unlike LPRs, asylees, and refugees); they are generally subject to removal by virtue of their presence within the United States alone (unlike all aliens with LPR, refugee, asylee, and unexpired nonimmigrant status); they have no legal basis to facilitate the admission of immediate relatives into the United States (unlike LPRs, refugees and asylees in some circumstances, and some nonimmigrants); they face considerable restrictions on eligibility for federal public benefits (particularly as compared with LPRs, refugees, and asylees); and, unless DHS decides to grant them advance parole, they generally cannot travel abroad with any legal basis to request re-entry to the United States (unlike all aliens with one of the four major statuses, except some nonimmigrants). Such aliens do not, however, possess "lawful immigration status," in the narrow sense that they remain technically removable under the INA's inadmissibility or deportability provisions and in the more general sense that they do not enjoy most of the statutorily fixed protections that come with LPR, refugee, asylee, and nonimmigrant status. Generally Available Reprieves Premised upon Enforcement Discretion or Executive Powers

Deferred Action . Thus, the term serves as a generic label for a decision by DHS not to remove an inadmissible or deportable alien pursuant to its enforcement discretion. Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) . Extended Voluntary Departure (EVD). Generally Available Reprieves Granted Pursuant to Statutory Authority

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) . Section 244 of the INA authorizes DHS to grant TPS to aliens who are nationals of countries that the Secretary of Homeland Security has designated as unsafe for return because of armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. Reprieves Granted Exclusively in Connection with the Removal Process

Administrative Closure . At the conclusion of removal proceedings, the immigration judge alone may grant voluntary departure for a maximum of 60 days.
Since at least the 1970s, immigration authorities in the United States have sometimes exercised their discretion to grant temporary reprieves from removal to non-U.S. nationals (aliens) present in the United States in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Well-known types of reprieves include deferred action, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The authority to grant some types of discretionary reprieves from removal, including TPS, comes directly from the INA. The authority to grant other types of reprieves generally arises from the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) enforcement discretion—that is, its discretion to determine the best manner for enforcing the immigration laws, including by prioritizing some removal cases over others.
The primary benefit that a reprieve offers to an unlawfully present alien is an assurance that he or she does not face imminent removal. Reprieves also generally confer other benefits, including eligibility for employment authorization and nonaccrual of unlawful presence for purposes of the three- and ten-year bars on admission to the United States under the INA. Reprieves do not confer "lawful immigration status," in the narrow sense that reprieve recipients typically remain removable under the INA's grounds of inadmissibility or deportability (although they may have defenses to removal, including a statutory defense in the case of TPS) and in the more general sense that recipients do not enjoy most of the statutorily fixed protections that come with lawful permanent resident (LPR), refugee, asylee, and nonimmigrant status. The availability and duration of reprieves often turn upon executive policies, and accordingly reprieves do not offer steadfast protection from removal or reliable access to other benefits.
Categories of reprieves premised upon executive enforcement discretion include the following:
Deferred Action. The generic term that DHS uses for a decision not to remove an inadmissible or deportable alien pursuant to its enforcement discretion. DACA. A large-scale, programmatic type of deferred action available since 2012 for a subset of aliens who arrived in the United States as children. Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). A reprieve premised on the President's exercise of foreign policy powers to protect nationals of countries experiencing war or instability. Extended Voluntary Departure (EVD). An earlier version of DED little used since 1990.
Reprieves granted pursuant to statutory authority include the following:
TPS Relief. A form of temporary protection from removal for aliens from countries that DHS designates as unsafe for return because of armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. Parole. A statutory power that authorizes DHS to grant entry (but not admission) to inadmissible aliens on a case-by-case basis.
Immigration authorities may grant other reprieves in connection with removal proceedings:
Administrative Closure. A decision to discontinue temporarily a removal proceeding. Voluntary Departure. A brief reprieve that allows an alien to depart the United States at his own expense in lieu of removal proceedings or enforcement of a removal order. Stay of Removal, Order of Supervision. Mechanisms often used together that allow DHS or an immigration judge to postpone enforcement of a removal order.