5 ways you can help 'Dreamers' in the wake of Trump's DACA decision

Roughly 800,000 undocumented youth stand to lose their ability to work, learn, and live in the United States following the Trump administration's decision to end the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

That announcement, delivered Tuesday by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, unleashed dread and panic in communities around the country as the program's recipients, often known as "Dreamers," began grappling with a new political reality.

The program will be phased out starting March 5, 2018, unless Congress replaces it with comparable legislation — a task the dysfunctional House and divided Senate hardly seem prepared to accomplish.

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This might look like a slow-motion disaster that few can stop, but activists say there are several important steps people can take to help defend DACA and its recipients.

"This fight will be won in the court of public opinion as much as it is in Congress," says Kristian Ramos, communications director for the nonprofit advocacy organization Define American.

Here are five impactful ways you can help.

1. Educate yourself.

President Obama created DACA in 2012 through an executive order. The program was meant to help young undocumented immigrants, who arrived in the U.S. by age 16 and lived continuously in the country since June 15, 2007, obtain a temporary work permit as well as a two-year stay of deportation proceedings.

DACA opponents portray it as "amnesty," while advocates argue the program made it possible for undocumented youth to participate in society as they presumably waited for Congress to finally tackle comprehensive immigration reform. In the meantime, DACA recipients couldn't vote, get federal benefits like college financial aid, or receive amnesty.

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Given the heated political rhetoric and spread of misinformation surrounding DACA, Ramos says it's essential for supporters to learn more about the program and talk about it with friends, family, and neighbors. A national survey of 1,308 DACA recipients conducted last fall by three advocacy organizations found that 95 percent were currently working or in school, 54 percent had bought their first car, and nearly half got a job with better working conditions.

Define American draws on some of these findings for its own fact sheet. A comprehensive report published this summer by the liberal think tank Center for American Progress looked at the impact DACA had on hundreds of recipients. The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, recently estimated the cost of ending DACA for businesses at $6.3 billion in spending associated with employee turnover, recruiting, training, and hiring 720,000 new employees.

Reports and analyses like these can help DACA supporters understand the scope of the Trump administration's policy and explain what's at stake.

2. Share your story.

DACA made it possible for undocumented immigrants to work as paramedics, teachers, firefighters, engineers, and in other professions, which would've been otherwise off limits. Now communities face losing hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are integral to people's everyday lives.

"I would say this absolutely will affect all Americans," Ramos says. "There is a very real emergency being created in local communities."

Ramos says people who want to defend DACA but aren't undocumented themselves can share stories of how their lives would be changed if someone in their community was deported. That could mean losing a friendship, but it could also mean losing your child's favorite teacher or the paramedic who saved your life.

There are plenty of ways to share a story on social media platforms. Define American also hosts its own storytelling tool. If you do choose to share a story, first make sure that it won't put an undocumented person at risk by disclosing identifying details about their personal life and immigration status.

3. Get involved locally.

If you want to participate in local efforts to defend DACA, start by looking for organizations that are committed to protecting immigrant rights and are led by people who will be most affected by local, state, and national policy decisions. Opportunities may include volunteering, community organizing, donating, and attending protests and rallies.

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Ally groups, such as unions, think tanks, and political organizations, can also provide more information about how to get involved. For a list of local DACA-related events, check out this database hosted by United We Dream, a nonpartisan network of immigrant youth and allies. You can also sign up for the network's "community calls" by texting the word "DACACall" to 877-877.

4. Stay up-to-date by following organizations and activists on social media.

Keeping track of the latest developments can be tough, but following these organizations and activists is a good start to staying on top of DACA-related news:

• Follow United We Dream, the largest largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation, on Facebook and Twitter.

• Follow Define American, a nonprofit organization that uses storytelling to "transcend politics," on Facebook and Twitter.

• Follow National Immigration Law Center, an advocacy organization for low-income immigrants and their family members, on Facebook and Twitter.

• Follow FWD.us, an organization "mobilizing the tech community" to fix the immigration system, on Facebook and Twitter.

• Follow Women's March, which is coordinating direct action, on Facebook and Twitter.

• Follow the ACLU, which is sharing DACA-related news and information about protests around the country, on Facebook and Twitter.

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• Follow Cristina Jiménez, cofounder and executive director of United We Dream, on Twitter.

• Follow Jose Antonio Vargas, founder of Define American, on Facebook and Twitter.

• Follow Erika Andiola, political director for Our Revolution, on Twitter.

• Follow journalist Juan Escalante on Twitter.

• Follow Jonathan Jayes-Green, co-creator of UndocuBlack and an undocumented immigrant, on Twitter.

• Follow Alida Garcia, an organizer at FWD.us, on Twitter.

5. Contact your elected representatives.

Now that Congress has become the last hope for Dreamers, the public will have to pressure elected representatives to pass legislation that protects DACA recipients from deportation.

The Center for American Progress has created a tool kit focusing on swing votes in the House and Senate. Those politicians include Republicans John McCain, Paul Ryan, Orrin Hatch, and Susan Collins. FWD.us also has a tool to connect people quickly via phone to Congress.

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"All eyes are going to be on Congress," Ramos says. "It's up to them how they want to react."