This article has been updated to reflect news developments.

DAVIS, CALIF. — On Tuesday Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the White House’s plan to rescind protections for young immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally as children, but with a six-month grace period to let Congress respond. The program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, grants those who qualify for the program a reprieve from deportation, which they must renew every two years.

The White House claims that DACA, which President Barack Obama announced in 2012 and which has broad bipartisan support, is illegal, but deferred action is a widely accepted legal principle. Over the last five years, DACA has become a core part of America’s immigration landscape: DACA has been granted to more than 800,000 immigrants, allowing them to attend school, work and contribute to their communities. Its repeal would upend the lives not only of these “Dreamers,” as participants are called, but also of their families, co-workers and employers.

The announcement leaves the Dreamers with countless questions. While authorities have said they won’t prioritize DACA participants after the program ends, how easily could that change? Will Congress come through with a replacement? The announcement says that information provided in DACA applications would not be proactively shared, with some exceptions — but does that leave open the possibility that information may be shared upon request from enforcement agencies?

At least two things are clear, however. First, the government must continue to treat current DACA recipients as people with deferred action, who should not be removed unless they violate the terms of DACA. Officials say that some recipients will be allowed to keep their status and even renew; the government should make this clear and apply it to all current DACA participants. The Department of Homeland Security has its own standard operating procedures that specify the process of how one’s particular DACA approval may be rescinded. The government must continue to comply with its own guidelines and not revoke a person’s deferral arbitrarily.