ATLANTA – Jaime Rangel said he knew an Obama-era program that allows him to stay and legally work in the United States wouldn’t last forever.

The Dalton resident just didn’t think the program would end like this. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, would end in six months.

“We imagined the program would end because Congress reached a bipartisan solution to solving immigration,” Rangel said Tuesday afternoon.

“We believed it was going to be immigration reform that will settle and eventually end DACA,” he said. “But not under these circumstances.”

The future for Rangel and about 800,000 young people who have benefited from the program – including more than 24,000 Georgians – is now uncertain.

A Mexico native, Rangel came to the United States as an infant. He’s lived in Dalton, which he described as the “greatest place on earth,” since he was in the second grade, when his family came in search of work in the carpet industry.

Now 26, Rangel said the DACA program allowed him to “come out of the shadows” and show the government that he’s no threat. He also gained a renewable two-year work permit, and in turn, he pays taxes.

“People believe it’s a free-for-all, but those people do not understand the program,” he said. “In order to get DACA, you have to go through a rigorous background check.”

The Trump administration’s decision now jeopardizes Rangel’s plan to finish his degree at Dalton State College, go to law school and pursue a career in governmental affairs. Rangel’s permit is set to expire late next year.

He said he’s not sure what he will do if the program ends without a replacement plan.

“I’m going to ask God to guide me through a tough storm,” he said. “And I’m going to put my life, my soul and my plans on him.”

Rangel said he’s hopeful that it won’t come to that, though.

“Now, the ball is in Congress’ court,” said Rangel, who said he identifies as a conservative. “Congress decides the fate of 800,000 lives, individuals who are nurses, doctors, engineers, lawyers, students, teachers.”

That was part of President Donald Trump’s message Tuesday. Trump, who called the plan a “wind-down,” said the strategy would “provide a window of opportunity for Congress to finally act.”

Specifically, the Trump administration will not accept any new applications for work permits, but current permits will be honored until they expire. Applications, including for renewals, that have already been filed will be processed.

DACA recipients will not be considered “enforcement priorities” for the Department of Homeland Security, Trump said Tuesday.

Still, the response in Georgia was mixed on Tuesday.

Congressman Hank Johnson, an Atlanta-area Democrat, said in a statement that Trump sent a “clear and unambiguous message to his Steve Bannon-alt right supporters that they have a friend in the White House.”

“President Trump did the wrong thing in failing to protect our DACA youth, and history will judge him harshly,” Johnson said, adding that Congress should now act to protect those in the program.

Congressman Tom Graves, a Republican who represents Dalton, said in a statement that the president was “doing his constitutional duty by enforcing U.S. immigration laws.”

“It’s up to Congress to make laws on border security and immigration reform,” he said.

Graves did not specifically say whether he would support a plan to extend the DACA program.

“The House has already passed funding for enhanced security and a wall on the southern border. There are new ideas on the table for fixing the legal immigration system and we will be debating those bills in the months ahead,” he added.

Trump’s decision appears to set the stage for a showdown over immigration reform, even as his administration pursues other ambitious agenda items, such as tax reform. This all comes on the heels of a failed attempt to replace the Affordable Care Act.

“Children who received status under President Obama’s deferred action executive order should not be punished for their parents’ choices,” Georgia U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican, said in a statement.

“Congress should protect these young people while also working toward stronger measures to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws going forward,” he added.

Georgia’s other senator, David Perdue, who is also a Republican, said in a statement Tuesday that Congress should focus on the “interests of working Americans, including immigrants.” He has proposed an approach that he describes as a merit-based system.

Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jnolin@cnhi.com.