In this Dec. 6, 2017, file photo, demonstrators hold up balloons during an immigration rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), programs, near the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

DENVER | Gov. Jared Polis is vowing to fight for thousands of immigrants who live and work in Colorado as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could end an Obama-era program allowing them to do so.

Polis told reporters in a conference call Thursday that ending the seven-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program would devastate Colorado’s economy and communities.

Program participants were brought illegally to the U.S. as children.

The court heard arguments Tuesday on whether the Trump administration can abolish protections that permit 660,000 immigrants to work in the U.S. free from the threat of deportation.

Polis, a Democrat, says his administration would ensure there is legal aid for so-called DACA recipients if the high court decides next summer the administration can terminate the program.

The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative of 1,300 newspapers, including The Sentinel, headquartered in New York City. News teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s...