Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday announced an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects young, undocumented immigrants from deportation.
The move fulfills one of President Donald Trump's campaign promises, while also giving Congress time to act -- and, in fact, urging legislators to do so. Catholic Charities of Southwest Ohio estimates there are about 3,000 DACA recipients in Greater Cincinnati.
RELATED: What's next for local immigrants?
DACA not only shields young immigrants from deportation, but also makes them eligible for a work permit.
"To hear that their authorization to work might be take away is a really big blow to their daily lives. And then obviously the other concern is if something were to happen and the administration wanted to use information they've been gathering from all these individuals in enforcement proceedings, then there's a potential they can be separated from family and friends here in the United State through deportation," said Allison Herre, an immigration attorney with Catholic Charities.
Trump, in a statement, said the change would be “a gradual process, not a sudden phase out.”
"Thus, in effect, I am not going to just cut DACA off, but rather provide a window of opportunity for Congress to finally act," he said. He said he did not favor punishing children for the actions of their parents. At the same time, though, "we must also recognize that we are a nation of opportunity because we are a nation of law" and "young Americans have dreams, too."
Under the plan, 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.
Trump's action drew swift criticism from many immigration advocates and Democratic lawmakers.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s decision "“a deeply shameful act of political cowardice and a despicable assault on innocent young people in communities across America."
Some Republicans objected, too.
Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Trump was taking “the wrong approach,” and he added: “The federal government has a responsibility to defend and secure our borders, but we must do so in a way that upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.”
Sessions called DACA, a policy begun under the Obama administration, an "unconstitutional exercise of authority by the executive branch." The United States needs to have a lawful immigration that "serves the national interest," he said, adding the U.S. cannot admit everyone who wants to come to the country.
Watch Sessions' entire briefing below:
Tuesday's announcement came the same day as a deadline set by a group of Republican state officials who said they would challenge DACA unless the Trump administration rescinded the program. Many believe the program would not hold up in court.
Local DACA recipient watches as Trump administration calls to end the program that protects him from deportation @WCPO pic.twitter.com/oCPdWslVNf
— Briana Harper (@BrianaWCPO) September 5, 2017
Trump suggested in an earlier tweet that it would be up to Congress to ultimately decide the fate of those now protected by the program. He tweeted, "Congress, get ready to do your job - DACA!"
"Make no mistake, we are going to put the interest of AMERICAN CITIZENS FIRST!" Trump added in a second, retweeted message. "The forgotten men & women will no longer be forgotten."
Republican and Democratic leadership will decide what their bases could swallow to find a compromise that would keep the nearly 800,000 people who benefit from the program from having their lives upended. Trump’s plan to take a harder line on young immigrants unless Congress intervenes threatens to emphasize deep divisions among Republicans who have long struggled with the issue, with one conservative warning of a potential “civil war” within the party. Congressional Republicans have a long history of being unable to act on immigration because of those divisions.
Mauricio Vivar, who moved from Mexico when he was 5, said he doesn't know much about where he was born. The 21-year-old, now living in Greater Cincinnati, anxiously awaited Tuesday's announcement, worried he could be sent back to a place that's not his home.
Vivar said the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, Act could be a potential solution. 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.
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.
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."
