About 200 "Dreamers" and immigration advocates marched on Federal Immigration Headquarters in Chicago on Monday.
It was one of several coordinated rallies nationwide on what was supposed to be the day that the DACA program officially came to an end. That deadline has now been pushed back by the Supreme Court, but Dreamers in Chicago are demanding the president and Congress take action.
24-year-old Ana Nino Flores of west suburban Aurora says she wants to chase the American dream, but can't because of her immigration status.
Flores was 5 years old when her parents moved to the U.S. from Mexico. After excelling in high school, she graduated with a degree in engineering from IIT and now works as a transportation engineer for a downtown firm.
But her protections under the "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" -- or DACA -- program expire in less than two years, meaning she could face deportation.
Flores says it's like living your life in limbo.
"If you want to plan, if you have a goal, sometimes you need to start early on. I can't start on anything because I can't even look two years past my life,” said Flores.
On Monday, Flores joined Illinois Senator Dick Durbin as he called on President Trump to take action to protect the 700,000 so-called "Dreamers" who came to the United States as children.
"It means for many of them that they run the risk of a court decision or a decision by the Trump Administration means their job comes to an end immediately, that they're subject to deportation. That is fundamentally unfair,” Durbin said.
At the same time, about 200 Dreamers and immigration activists marched to the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Headquarters in Chicago demanding that ICE stop deportations until the DACA question is settled.
President Trump has expressed support for helping the Dreamers, but rejected several immigration proposals put forward by Congress so far.
Flores says as someone who grew up in the United States, she just wants what many of us take for granted.
"Sometimes I feel like it's hard to feel what an American is when everybody tells you you're definitely not it,” she said.
Senator Durbin says there are 43,000 people protected by DACA in Illinois.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7p7vXbGmcoJmYrqi7jZympmeemsS0e8KhoJyZl6R6pb7EmqSeqqNisaa5wKebZpmTqbawuoyopWackZiubq7YZqurrZ2leqS7zaCpnquj