President Trump will announce Tuesday whether he will rescind the Obama-era executive order that created the Dreamers.

  • DACA program provides reprieve from deportation
  • Trump called it illegally amnesty during campaign
  • Will announce decision on the program Tuesday

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, DACA, has protected nearly 800,000 young immigrants from deportation and allowed them to work in the country.

The immigrants were all brought to this country illegally, but have been allowed to stay as long as they don't commit any crimes, among other requirements.

Trump called the program illegal "amnesty" when he campaigned for president, but he said Friday that, "We love the Dreamers, we love everybody."

Ten Republican officials from states like Texas are threatening to sue the state over DACA if a decision is not made by Sept. 5. 

On Friday House Speaker Paul Ryan said he was against rolling back the protections for young immigrants, saying it was something Congress had to fix. 

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch also sent out a statement Friday, urging Trump not to revoke former President Obama's protections for people who came to the country unlawfully as children through no fault of their own.

Mounting an advocacy effort are the CEOs of Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook and Starbucks, among other companies, and Roman Catholic archbishops across the country.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

For DACA recipients, mounting anxiety

Ivan Vazquez is a DACA recipient. He says his parents moved his family from Mexico to the states when he was 13.  At 16, he worked as a migrant farm worker. 

“I have so much love and appreciation for this country and what it has done for me,” said Vazquez.

He’s now studying nutrition at Seminole State College and plans to transfer to the University of Florida. He recently started up a community garden behind the HOPE CommUnity Center in Apopka. Many immigrants and DACA recipients get assistance at the center. Vazquez says he wanted to give families a chance to share their native foods with their children.

“A way for them to get back to their roots, and a way for them to introduce to their kids, who most of them were born in the states,” said Vazquez.

Vazquez says he’s worried that President Trump’s decision on DACA could reverse everything he’s worked for.

“There’s a lot at stake for me, potentially even my job,” said Vazquez. “Even if I don’t get deported, I would have to go back in the shadows and stay under the radar, and I don’t want that.  I don’t want that for my future.”

His future uncertain, Vasquez says he’s holding out hope he can continue to live his life in Florida, and continue helping others.

“Home is where you feel safe, and this is where I feel safe, but right now things are not looking so good for us,” said Vazquez.

Vasquez plans to join other DACA recipients in Washington D.C. next week for a five-day hunger strike to demonstrate how important the program is to them and others across the country. It was originally scheduled to happen in Austin, Texas, but was postponed because of the aftermath from Hurricane Harvey.