WASHINGTON — Thousands of young Colorado immigrants are anxiously watching the White House to see whether President Donald Trump will undo an Obama-era program that shields them from deportation and allows them to legally work.

Trump hasn’t made clear what he plans to do with the 2012 initiative, officially known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which grants new rights to immigrants brought as children illegally to the U.S.

But the broad expectation is that the administration will make a decision before 10 state attorneys general move forward with a lawsuit challenging DACA. They have vowed to do so by Tuesday, unless Trump cancels the program.

Two media outlets, Fox News and McClatchy, reported Thursday that a decision could come as early as Friday and that Trump is expected to cancel DACA but allow participants to remain in the U.S. until their work permits expire.

The possibility of imminent action has heightened fears among the roughly 17,000 Colorado immigrants who have enrolled in DACA — many of whom said they are worried about losing their jobs or being deported.

“I don’t know what to do,” said Brithany Gutierrez, a junior at Colorado State University. “It’s kind of out of my hands and out of my control, and that’s one of the worst feelings, because I feel kind of helpless.”

Gutierrez said DACA has given her the chance to work as a nursing assistant to help pay for college and that an end to the program could derail her ambitions of becoming an immigration attorney.

“I think my biggest concern right now is possibly losing my work permit,” said Gutierrez, 19, who overstayed her visa with the rest of her family after they emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. in 2005.

She added that the risk of deportation has crossed her mind, too. “Obviously, there’s some fear of the government having all my information and being able track me down,” she said.

In the five years since President Barack Obama launched the program, about 800,000 immigrants have registered with DACA, which is available to residents who came to the U.S. illegally before their 16th birthday and don’t have a felony.

Participants are protected from deportation proceedings and can receive a temporary work permit, but they are not given lawful status.

Ad-lib by @MayorHancock: "Mr President (@POTUS), leave our DACA children alone." Big applause. — Jon Murray (@JonMurray) August 31, 2017

Moving forward, a key question for these enrollees — and the Trump administration — is how quickly the president wants to unwind DACA if he nixes the program.

“At this time, we do not know when or if the DACA program will be terminated or what the end of the program may look like,” noted analysts with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, an advocacy group that supports a liberal approach to immigration law. “For example, will those with DACA continue to be protected from deportation and able to use their work permits until they expire? Or will DACA approvals and work permits be revoked?”

Then there’s the issue of what comes next for DACA recipients if Trump cancels the program but allows them to run out their work permits. Will immigration authorities seek to deport them immediately afterward?

At the moment, the Trump team isn’t saying much.

“This has been a very lengthy review, and it’s certainly not over. It’s something that is still being discussed, and a final decision hasn’t been made,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a Wednesday briefing with reporters.

The 10 attorneys general challenging DACA recommended in late June that the administration phase out the program. They want the federal government to stop issuing new work permits and granting renewals, but they didn’t ask for the revocation of the ones that already have been approved.

“DACA unilaterally confers eligibility for work authorization and lawful presence without any statutory authorization from Congress,” argued the 10 officials, which did not include Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman.

Trump has sent mixed signals about DACA. He ran for president on an anti-immigration platform and recently spiked a DACA-like effort that, had it taken effect, would have shielded the immigrant parents of U.S. citizens. But in April he said DACA-eligible immigrants could “rest easy.”

Many DACA recipients fear the worst, however, and they’ve increasingly reached out to Colorado immigration attorneys — driven by both the Tuesday deadline and an increase in immigration arrests under the Trump administration.

“There is so much anxiety, anger and impotence,” said Julie Gonzales, public policy director at the Denver immigration law firm of Hans Meyer. “It’s palpable.”

At the University of Colorado at Boulder, school officials are preparing to launch a website that DACA students can use a resource while continuing to offer related services, including from a part-time immigration attorney.

“CU values our DACA students and their many contributions to the university community, and we hope they can continue their studies here so they can better themselves and society,” CU system spokesman Ken McConnellogue said in a statement.

The CU system, which includes Boulder and three other campuses, doesn’t keep precise tabs on the number of DACA participants, but officials estimate that about 160 of its students use a state program for residents living illegally in Colorado.

Federal immigration officials, meanwhile, have been circumspect on their preparations. “(Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is not going to speculate on this issue before a decision is made,” said ICE spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea.

Congress has attempted to address the issue through several pieces of legislation, although none of the proposals have gone far and any bill that passes the U.S. House and Senate would need Trump’s signature anyway — barring an unlikely veto-proof majority.

The uncertainty has further complicated the semilegal status that many DACA recipients said they have experienced, although Laura Peniche, 33, of Englewood said it would be impossible now for her to return to the shadows.

“I don’t feel optimistic, but I also don’t feel that I’m willing to go back to hiding and go back to living in fear,” said Peniche, who has three young children who all are U.S. citizens.

“I don’t know what it’s going to take — maybe it’s a lawsuit, maybe it’s creating a lot of noise,” she said. “I had an idea of what being American was, and the treatment that we are receiving is not in line with the American promise.”