'So Much Hope': Denver DACA Recipient Has Faith Program Is Here To Stay

DENVER (CBS4) -- More than 600,000 young, undocumented immigrants will keep their temporary protected status following the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to block President Trump's attempt to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

While supporters fear the administration will make another attempt to get rid of it, one young Colorado woman says she has faith- DACA is here to stay.

"If he does want to remove it, there's a huge community behind every DREAMer that will help make sure that he doesn't remove it and will help to ensure that every dreamer has a voice heard -- if they're undocumented or not," said Maria Lopez.

The Trump administration made the decision to end DACA in 2017 which sparked protests nationwide. In Denver, DACA recipient Maria Lopez recalls marching alongside her high school classmates.

"...it gave me so much hope," she beamed.

Lopez recently graduated from Denver's DSST College View High School and says the absence of a program like DACA would disrupt her path to college, and life in general.

"It would obviously mean that I would not be able to work and without being able to provide for myself or for my family," she continued, "it could also mean that I have to live in fear everyday because I could get deported and my family could get deported, my brother could get deported, and my little sister would be here by herself with no one to take care of her."

She was only a year old when her mother crossed the border from Mexico to the United States.

"She was carrying me in her arms and my brother was obviously on her other hand, holding it tight."

She only remembers it through stories but says she is painfully aware of what her mother sacrificed.

"She would always tell us, let me work for you guys... 'cause obviously she wanted to give us the whole world," she smiled.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis shared his support for the decision Thursday and said in an online statement;

"Here in Colorado, we know our immigrants make our state, and our country, a stronger and a better place to live. Immigrants enrich our communities. I am thrilled that the thousands of DREAMers in Colorado will no longer be forced to live in fear and am glad the court made the right decision, although we still need Congress to act and create a pathway to citizenship. This is a historic moment for our country. Now is the time for the federal government to work together on bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform."

Lopez plans to attend Metropolitan State University in Denver this fall.

RELATED: DACA Will Stay: Colorado's Elected Leaders React To Supreme Court Ruling