CINCINNATI -- Mauricio Vivar is one of nearly 800,000 immigrants who receive protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The Greater Cincinnati resident, along with hundreds of thousands of others brought to the United States when they were children, anxiously awaited President Donald Trump’s decision on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.
The news wasn't what they'd hoped to hear, but was widely expected: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday the program would end, calling it unconstitutional.
The policy, started under the Obama administration, allowed undocumented immigrants who entered the country as minors to receive protection from deportation and eligibility for a work permit.
Vivar moved from Mexico when he was 5. The now 21-year-old doesn’t know much about where he was born, and now he’s concerned he could be sent back.
“If nothing comes out of it, a new solution that's not going to hold us back,” Vivar said.
The White House won't accept any new applications for legal status under DACA after Tuesday, administration officials told ABC News. Anyone who has DACA permit expiring between now and March 5, 2018 can apply for a two-year renewal, administration officials said -- giving Congress six months to move on the issue.
MORE: Trump administration urges Congress to act
Sens. Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham introduced a bipartisan bill in July that would grant legal status to many of those covered under the program.
Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lucille Roybal-Allard introduced a companion bill in the House, which would give people under DACA a pathway to citizenship.
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors -- or DREAM -- Act could be a potential solution, Vivar said. The legislative proposal would allow undocumented minors to obtain conditional residency with the chance of obtaining permanent residency if qualifications are met.
“We're hoping that this isn't gonna be a negative impact, but if it is we'll be ready to push the DREAM Act even more than it is now,” he said.
Sen. Paul Ryan said he thinks immigration policy is “something that Congress needs to fix.”
“At the end of the day though, I'd say these kids don't know any other home,” Ryan said. “I think there's a humane way to fix this. I think President Trump agrees with fixing this, and it's got to be up to the legislature"
For Vivar, he hopes he and many others will get to stay in the U.S.
“We'll be ready for anything and anything to come,” he said.
A rally is scheduled to take place at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Sen. Rob Portman’s office at the Scripps Center Downtown.
