DACA supporters and Dreamers hold rally in Clearwater

CLEARWATER (FOX 13) - On the footsteps of Clearwater's courthouse, around 100 supporters of DACA gathered. There were chants to save the Obama-era program. Supporters made signs, one of them reading "legalize our dreams."

Whizzing by, drivers chimed in to support, too.

"We are fighting for DACA and hopefully it will stay in place," said a rally organizer, Nancy Hernandez. "These kids have dreams and goals and we just want to make sure we are supporting them."

Kids like Carlos Gonzalez Arvizu, a 2016 graduate of Clearwater High School, who is one of those so-called Dreamers. He is taking classes at St. Petersburg College in hopes of becoming of firefighter one day.

"We're students. We're not criminals," he said. "We're trying to do something for our community. We're trying to be the new leaders that the world is going to want. We're not criminals, how other people may see us."

Carlos and his family arrived from Mexico City when he was 2 years old. Should President Trump end DACA, he worries he won't be able to continue going to school.

"I'm going to have to probably say goodbye my friends and family," he said. "I grew up here. It would be heartbreaking because we built so much here. We built up our houses, we work hard and for somebody to tell us we're no longer (able) to be here, it's going to suck, it's really going to be really terrifying."

Dressed in caps and gowns to show they have graduated, one Dreamer took words straight from the president himself.

"We do want to make America great," said Aracely Toribio. "We're part of that society that wants to make America great again."

"We're not just trying to be here and bring down America," added Gonzalez Arvizu. "We're trying to help America more."

Should President Trump end DACA Tuesday, reports are that he's expected to give Congress six months to come up with a fix for the program.

Currently, 800,000 people are protected by DACA.