A U.S. District judge is reviewing an appeal to terminate the DACA program, which could affect thousands of people across New York and the nation, many of whom are students.

According to the group Higher Ed Immigration Portal, an estimated 8,000 students are eligible for DACA, a government-sponsored program in which people who came to the U.S. as undocumented kids could avoid deportation and possibly receive work authorization.

Newburgh resident Laura Garcia immigrated with her family to Newburgh in 1993, at age 8, from Mexico. She was undocumented.

Spanish was her first language, but over time, Garcia not only learned English, but graduated high school and wanted to pursue a higher education.

“When I graduated high school, I didn't realize [what] the impact of being undocumented was going to be like,” Garcia said. “I was already looking for colleges and I had a lot of difficulty trying to get into a college, only because I didn't have the money. Everything we had to do, we had to pay out of pocket when it came to college.”

Garcia applied for and was accepted into the DACA program. She was then able to obtain a work permit, leading to her current job at the Newburgh Free Library.

“When I was younger, the one place that we always came to was the Newburgh Free Library. They had all kinds of books, and my father wanted to make sure that one, we learned the language better, English, and that we kept our language,” said Garcia.

However, Garcia is still living each day knowing she can still be deported from what she now considers her home. A legal challenge over the Obama-era program is currently on appeal in federal court and could be struck down, meaning thousands of young DACA recipients could face removal from the U.S.

For now, Garcia must renew her DACA status every two years, something that makes her anxious.

Garcia is also pursuing a master’s degree as one of the roughly 8,000 DACA-eligible students in New York. The library became a safe place for Garcia where she felt connected to her community, but in 2008, everything changed.

“My father no longer had a driver's license because of the changes in the laws. And he was unfortunately stopped [and] didn't have a license and was deported,” Garcia said. “That was a very difficult time for my family and I, because now, the main person in the household who provided for us was no longer here.”

Despite the trauma, Garcia graduated from college. She was by herself at the ceremony.

“My parents went back to Mexico while my dad was deported, and my mom had to take care of my younger brother who was diagnosed with ALS, so they couldn't be here to support me,” said Garcia.

About a month ago, Garcia was able to go back to Mexico. Thanks to a special exception, a family got to be reunited.

“It was one of the most exciting moments of my life because it was a full circle moment for me, being able to provide them with this piece of paper that they fought so hard for me to get and achieve, and it was their dream, and it was my dream, and I was able to hand it over,” said Garcia.

The court is still reviewing the question of DACA’s legality. A timeline for a final decision remains unclear, but it could be as far off as next spring before the court issues a ruling.