Local activists and policymakers rally to call out Donald Trump’s end to DACA.

As temperatures drop to 80 degrees on Sept. 5 in Seaside, half a dozen activists at the Center for Change craft signs for two protests scheduled for later that day in both Salinas and Monterey. Doors are cracked open and fans whir, but it's not enough to cool down the activists' frustration over President Donald Trump's announcement earlier that morning that he would end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.

"I'm angry," says CSU Monterey Bay student Gabriela Medrano, who is among the sign-makers. The 28-year-old is the only Latina in the room. She was born in the U.S. and knows she'll be fine, but worries about other people in her immediate circuit, like her cousin.

Her cousin came to the U.S. from Mexico with her mother, who was looking for work. Her cousin made a life in the states. She graduated college, started a family, and ever since DACA in 2012, has been employed as a designer for a textile company in Southern California.

"DACA was a step in the right direction," Medrano says. "There's a reason why people are leaving their countries looking for better work."

DACA applies to nearly 900,000 undocumented residents, allowing them to apply for work permits and defer the risk of deportation for two years. Last year, Hartnell College in Salinas enrolled 880 so-called DREAMers.

Local lawmakers were quick to issue statements objecting to Trump's decision to overturn DACA.

"Now more than ever, it is time we roll up our sleeves and stand with these young people who contribute to our community and our economy," U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris said in a statement.

California Assemblymember, Anna Caballero published an announcement stating that DACA recipients already have to make themselves vulnerable by giving up personal information to the federal government in exchange for being allowed to stay: "DACA allowed [DREAMers] to continue their education and to work without fear of deportation. It is a promise made and one that should not be broken."

Congressmen Jimmy Panetta objected to Trump on another front, foreshadowing that the end of DACA could mean breaking up families "These young people will be forced to leave the only country that they have called home and undocumented immigrant families will continue to live in fear of being split up," Panetta said in a statement.

Trump, meanwhile, passed the responsibility onto Congress, tweeting, "Congress, get ready to do your job - DACA!"