Agencies, such as ICE and DHS, are within the Executive Branch of government, and thus fall within the Obama Administration. Agencies have discretion in the application of the law that they are responsible for. Exercise of this discretion is not only legal, but also required. The general authority for deferred action exists under the Immigration and Nationality Act 103(a), 8 U.S.C. 1103(a), granting the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to enforce immigration law. 3 Although no statutes or regulations outline deferred action in specific terms, the Supreme Court has clearly ruled that decisions to initiate or terminate enforcement proceedings fall squarely within the authority of the Executive, and can thus be heavily influenced via deferred action by President Obama. 4 This discretion must be practiced within the confines of the law and subject to the chain of command of the agency. If an agency memorandum comes from the top of the chain of command, such as the Secretary of Homeland Security, it becomes the policy for the agency, subject only to extremely narrowly-tailored limitations of the law.