Immigration advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Thursday over what they allege are severe delays in renewals for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.

The plaintiffs say the delays have caused recipients to lose their jobs, livelihoods, and legal work authorization. DACA recipients generally must renew their protections every two years.

One of the plaintiffs in the suit, a 26-year-old medical school graduate, said he is unable to begin his residency in anesthesiology while his DACA review is pending, while another person who graduated from an orthopedic surgery fellowship said he has been unable to work, according to NBC News.

Another man told NBC News that DACA renewals typically take four to six weeks, but the delay in his most recent renewal caused his status to lapse, leading him to take an unpaid leave from his job.

"It's affected every facet of my life," the man said. "When I leave my apartment, I sometimes have to think really long and hard that maybe today's the day that I don't come back."

The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California by Justice Action Center on behalf of East Bay Sanctuary Covenant and the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, both of which serve DACA recipients who have experienced renewal delays and status lapses.

The groups told NBC News they filed information requests May 7 seeking an explanation for delays affecting applicants who sought renewals around October and November. After U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond by a June 5 deadline, they filed suit.

"Is it a short-term fluke and it will be fixed, or is it something that is going to last?" said Catherine Seitz, legal director at the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area. "We need to know so that we can inform clients."

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that DACA recipients "are not automatically protected from deportations."

"DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country," the DHS statement said.

"Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons including if they've committed a crime," it added.