The Trump Administration announced its decision Tuesday to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Serotte Reich Wilson, an immigration law firm in Buffalo, has already started to have discussions with clients who are DACA holders.
"As of this morning we are in the process of going through any of our DACA beneficiaries seeing when they expire and what options are available," Nisha Fontaine, an associate attorney with the firm, said Tuesday.
Current DACA holders might be eligible to apply for a different legal status, but that depends on a lot of different factors, according to Fontaine.
"They want to contribute to the society," Fontaine said. "Plus this is where they've grown up. This is where their ties are. Some of these individuals are married adults with children. They are business owners."
Erie Community College issued a statement in support of continuing the DACA program. Several current students are protected by DACA, according to President Dan Hocoy.
"These students are part of cutting edge programs that are contributing to our resurgence in Western New York," Hocoy said. "Their participation is critical to the renaissance of WNY."
The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has also publicly spoke out against the decision to end DACA.
“I am fully behind the continuation of DACA," Bishop Malone said in a statement. "It would be a travesty, an act of injustice toward immigrant young people, to end this program.”
