A sea of people on Saturday flocked to Oakland to march in protest of the Trump administration's decision to rescind a program that protects young undocumented immigrants in the United States from deportation.
The dismantling of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, was announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday. President Donald Trump has since given Congress six months to draft new legislation to address the status of children belonging to undocumented immigrants in the states.
An estimated 700 people peacefully gathered and marched in Oakland on Saturday, many choosing to condemn the administration's decision. Signs hoisted into the air read "No Human is Illegal," "Defend DACA!" or "Dreamers are part of MLK's Dream."
"Dreamers" is a common term used to describe DACA recipients.
Lucy Siale, 16, helped organize the event after posting details on social media.
"Being a first generation American student and being a daughter of immigrants, I felt like it was necessary to make the voices of the unheard be heard," she said.
Amping up those in attendance, Siale shouted, "We are showing up for the 800,000 folks who have been targeted this past week."
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Marlene Gutierrez, a DACA recipient, also took the microphone to share her story. She attended Merritt College and hopes to be an educator one day.
"I won't apologize for breaking the law when I got here," she told the crowd.
Marchers temporarily blocked access to some city streets, according to police, but the city's department did not receive any reports of serious incidents.
Across the country in New York City, hundreds of people rallied outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower to protest the DACA decision.
