Hundreds rally to protest Trump administration's DACA decision

In the melting pot of Southern California, groups of marchers took to the streets to show their outrage at the Trump administration's decision to rescind the Defered Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.

They supported President Obama's controversial program which provided temporary permits to those children brought to America illegally.

Many DACA recipients, or DREAMERS, fearing they'll be deported to countries they left as children … countries many do not recognize as their own.

Across town at UCLA, a smaller but similar protest

DREAMERS there, fighting to stay in the country, but also fighting to be understood

"You need to have a clean record. You need to pay fees. You need to do so many things to just achieve that. And the fact that they take that away from people it's painful," said one DREAMER who did not want to be named.

Protestors supporting the president's move, came out too, clashing with DACA supporters Downtown.

One man showing his support of the Trump administrations move by sharing pictures of people he claims were killed by undocumented immigrants.

"We have a pathway to citizenship already," he said.

Another said, "I don't hate these people....I don't like being called a racist. But why are there two sets of laws?"

Its those law, some DACA recipients, dream of changing one day

"My dream? My dream is to become an advocate for my people I feel this is shaping who I want to be," said the UCLA DREAMER.

Congress has six months to come up with a solution for permits expiring between now and March 5, 2018.

The protesters numbered several dozen and were from different organizations, including the Service Employees International Union and the California Immigrant Policy Center. The group gathered in front of City Hall before marching to the Hall of Justice and the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building.

``We are simply outraged by the decision coming down from the Trump administration to rescind DACA and expose hundreds of thousands of youth and undocumented adults to deportation,'' said Carlos Amador, organizing director for the California Immigrant Policy Center.

Ivan Caja, who is one of the estimated 800,000 recipients of DACA protection nationwide and 200,000 in California, said he was brought to the United States when he was 9 months old, and he is now 25.

``I feel frustrated, like when is it going to end, the constant attacks and pulling at us like we are pawns?'' said Caja, who is also a co-founder of the nonprofit UndocuMedia. ``This was just a reminder of how little respect
they have. They acknowledge that we are a big part of the work force, whether they exploit us or not, but then to go and take away a program that wasn't doing any harm, it felt like a big slap in the face.''

Meantime, across the street a small group of pro-Trump protesters gathered and at times got into arguments with the pro-DACA crowd.

Copyright 2017 FOX 11 Los Angeles : Download our mobile app for breaking news alerts or to watch FOX 11 News | Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Be a citizen journalist for FOX 11 and get paid - download the Fresco News App today.