An EAD gives a person legal status to work in the United States but has fewer privileges than a green card.
EADs are not issued to people with immigration status (eg. citizens or permanent residents). It is ONLY issued to those with no status.
And as we now know, the Irish man in question:
- Entered under VWP, which EXPLICITLY bars any form of status adjustment
- Filed a Habeas Corpus petition, which was denied by a judge
- Has a final order of removal, signed by a judge, not an administrator
In fact, you need to just take a look at the back of an EAD card. It explicitly states it is not evidence of status.
This guy is a weird hill for you to die on. He overstayed TWENTY YEARS and immigration courts, which are known to be far more lenient, have denied his ridiculous arguments to stay.