DALTON, Ga. — Dalton resident Christian Olvera says that when he meets with members of Georgia’s delegation to Congress next week he wants to make one thing clear about himself and other “Dreamers.”

“We are not afraid of hard work. We don’t want any handouts. We don’t want anything for free. We don’t want a nickel out of anybody’s pocket,” he said. “All we want is a chance to work, to pay taxes, to buy a home and buy a car. If they want to put us in the line, that’s fine, just let us start.”

Olvera one of about 800,000 illegal aliens— including an estimated 24,000 Georgia residents — brought to the United States as children who as adults were granted a work permit and deferred action from deportation by former President Barack Obama in 2012 under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

President Donald Trump earlier this year said he would end the program in March but has called on Congress to make it permanent.

Born in Mexico, Olvera, 26, is one of about 100 Dreamers, including several from Georgia, who will be asking lawmakers to do just that.

His family came to Dalton when he was just eight.

“I went to Dalton schools my whole life. This is where my friends are. This is my home,” he said. “I still have family back in Mexico, but it really is like another country to me.”

Olvera is a student at Dalton State College who also helps his family manage a photography and digital media company.

Jaime Rangel, another Dalton resident and student at Dalton State College, will also be meeting with members of Congress.

Rangel, 26, was born in Mexico and came to the United States when he was an infant.

“I’ve lived in Dalton since I was in second grade, and since I was in second grade, I have pledged allegiance to the greatest flag in the world. Northwest Georgia is my home. It’s the place that shaped my values,” he said.

The DACA program applies to those who came to the United States before their 16th birthday and prior to June 2007. They had to have been in school or a graduate of a U.S. high school or have been honorably discharged from the military. They cannot have been convicted of a felony or serious misdemeanor or more than two misdemeanors.

“You have to go through a strict background check to be part of this program,” he said.

Both men say they are encouraged that even though Trump said he would not renew the DACA program he explicitly supports Congress passing a law to make it permanent.

“I look it as an opportunity,” said Rangel. “It’s an opportunity to finally find a permanent solution to this problem, to allow thousands of hardworking people, Americans who have been in this country almost their entire lives, to fully contribute to this country and to this state.”

Garrett Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, said one of his staff members will be meeting with Dreamers next week.

“President Trump is doing his constitutional duty by enforcing U.S. immigration laws,” Graves said in a statement. “It’s up to Congress to make laws on border security and immigration reform. The House has already passed funding for enhanced security and a wall on the southern border. There are new ideas on the table for fixing the legal immigration system and we will be debating those bills in the months ahead.”