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Some fear Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival protection may be taken away.

(WJBK) - For Jasmine Lomeli, its an uncertain future and the anxiety grows with each executive order on immigration signed by President Donald trump.

"As a parent, as a daughter, we don't know. We don't know what is going to be our future," she said.

This mother of three knows no other home other than Detroit.

She was brought here from Mexico by undocumented parents as a child.

"I'm really proud of my parents," she said.

Lomeli's known this fear most of her life however, and applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, or DACA, protection in 2015. That protects children of illegal immigrants from deportation. She and others at a Michigan United Rally on Thursday are concerned Trump may do away with that protection as part of sweeping immigration reform.

"With DACA, we feel safe and now are afraid. We don't know what is going to happen," Lomeli said.

She feels Detroit is a safe place for her family for now, but questions how long that safety will last if DACA protection is undone -- a fear that would be lessened if she lived in a sanctuary city. The mayor has made clear Detroit isn't a sanctuary city but the problem according to organizers here is the term sanctuary city isnt clearly defined, leaving a lot of room for interpretation and fear.

City council woman Raquel Castaneda-Lopez attempted to clarify where the city stands in that regard.

"We don't actively go out and seek and search for immigrants and then report that back to border patrol, so we are a safe haven in that we prevent racial profiling. We are not a sanctuary city in terms of how Trumps defines it as denying access to federal agents."

This group of civil right activists say despite the speed at which this reform seems to be happening there is no reason to give up the fight.

"Courage means to act even if you are afraid to organize and show up to these meetings to become a united front," said Sergio Martinez, a DACA recipient.

So far Trump has not signed any executive orders pertaining to DACA and this group wants to keep it that way.

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DACA recipients face uncertainty after Trump's immigration reform - Fox 2 Detroit

Nieves Ojendiz, an immigrant from Mexican, holds her daughter Jane, 4, at an immigration reform rally in New York in June. Drew Angerer / Getty Images

"Far too many children in this country already live in constant fear that their parents will be taken into custody or deported, and the message these children received today from the highest levels of our federal government exacerbates that fear and anxiety," Stein said.

"No child should ever live in fear. When children are scared, it can impact their health and development. Indeed, fear and stress, particularly prolonged exposure to serious stress known as toxic stress can harm the developing brain and negatively impact short- and long-term health."

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Dr. Julie Linton has seen it firsthand.

"I had a child I took care of in clinic a few months ago who came in complaining of headaches," said Linton, a pediatrician in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and co-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Immigrant Health Special Interest group.

"He said he was told in school that his parents would be sent away and that's when his headaches started."

Linton takes a deep breath when asked about the argument that parents should not have brought their children to the U.S. illegally in the first place.

"As a mother myself, I cannot imagine what it would be like to be in a circumstance where I was fearing for the life, health and education of my child," she said.

"What I see when I have these families in front of me is fearful parents with fearful children striving to have a better life, to have a safe life, and to have a hopeful life," she added.

"It's not a choice. If you are fleeing violence threatening the life of your child, you're not making a choice. You're making a decision to protect your baby."

Many schools have reported that children of immigrants even those whose parents are established citizens

"We urge President Trump and his Administration to ensure that children and families who are fleeing violence and adversity can continue to seek refuge in our country. Immigrant children and families are an integral part of our communities and our nation, and they deserve to be cared for, treated with compassion, and celebrated," Stein said.

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Pediatricians Speak Out Against President Trump's Immigration Orders - NBCNews.com

This sensible change in focus, for as long as it might endure, provides an opportunity to contemplate what else may be possible regarding immigration policy during the next four years.

But it doesn't have to be this way.

Fortunately for Republicans and Democrats, and for the country, there is a simpler way for this administration to make good on all of its promises. The answer is to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes bipartisan compromises to accomplish the thrust of each of Trump's enforcement promises, but also provides that once the President (or his successor) declares that these things have been accomplished, lawful permanent residency will be provided for all of the undocumented, law-abiding individuals currently living in the United States.

Second, no immigration bill will pass unless it is comprehensive. Contrary to popular belief, Democrats have now become accustomed to explaining that, in their view, enforcement-only approaches will unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars, cause needless harm and separation to families who have been here for decades and lead to massive disruptions in the economy and further exploitation of illegal workers. No amount of pressure on red-state Democrats will likely change this calculus.

Democrats should support compromise legislation that prevents the deportation of undocumented individuals who are already living here and have clean criminal records, but does not confer actual lawful immigration status to anyone until after all of the bill's enforcement metrics have been achieved. Once the enforcement metrics have been met, the individuals protected by the bill could earn the right to receive permanent residency in the United States.

It is in Democrats' interest to support this legislation because it will immediately alleviate the fear and uncertainty that is affecting the immigrant community while ensuring that legitimate concerns about preventing future waves of illegal immigration are finally addressed to the satisfaction of the very voters Democrats are trying to win back.

The choice is clear: Keep fighting the same battles of the past, or work together to achieve everyone's stated goals. Hopefully, collaboration will prevail over combat.

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With Obama gone, it's time for comprehensive immigration reform - CNN

COLUMBUS (WCMH) Executive orders anticipated later this week from President Trump have local immigrants and refugee advocates concerned about their future.

As early as Thursday, Trump is expected to pause the flow of all refugees to the United States and indefinitely bar those fleeing war-torn Syria. Local families and refugee advocates are worried about whats to come.

My dad, who is very old, like 85 years old, is in Kenya, said Columbus-resident Hassan Omar.

Omar is from Somalia and is now a naturalized U.S. citizen. He spent 16 years at the Hagadera refugee camp in Kenya, where his father is now.

We are now very much hoping, maybe before summer, for my mother-in-law to come here, he said. All that hope now is gone.

Omar has been waiting over a decade to reunite with his family and now is worried that day may never come with President Trump in office.

They only survive by the will of God and whatever we send on a monthly basis from here, he said.

Were supposed to be unity together forever, now youre seeing policy coming in and dividing communities, said Burhan Ahmed, director of the Center for Somali-American Engagement.

Its a similar story for countless others who trying to escape war abroad.

The president continues to believe that immigrants, and refugees especially, are a special security risk to this country, said Romin Iqbal, legal director for CAIR Ohio. We know that these are people who are vetted in the extreme.

Iqbal likens todays refugee crisis to World War IIwhen some Jewish refugees were also turned away by the U.S.

These refugees are, as I said, one of the most vulnerable populations on the planet and they have nowhere else to go, he said. They need our help.

The Presidents upcoming order is expected to suspend issuing visas for people from Muslim countries like Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 30 days.

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Families fear in shadow of immigration reform - NBC4i.com

Striking a defiant tone, immigrants and their advocates in Chicago responded immediately to President Donald Trump's executive orders Wednesday to jump-start construction of a border wall with Mexico and strip funding for sanctuary cities.

"Our community is strong and united, and we will not live in fear," said Mony Ruiz-Velasco, executive director of the West Suburban Action Project. "Whatever walls Trump wants to build, we will fight to tear them down."

The comments came at a news conference near the Chicago Immigration Court and Department of Homeland Security headquarters in downtown Chicago shortly after Trump signed the orders during a ceremony in Washington. He had just honored Homeland Security's newly confirmed secretary, retired Gen. John Kelly.

Roughly 50 people turned out to urge city leaders to resist Trump's deportation policies, maintain Chicago's sanctuary status and call on community members to organize.

"We are here to tell the new administration that we are going to fight back," said Jude Ssempungu, a board member at the United African Organization. "We are not going to retreat in fear."

Trump said his executive actions on immigration show that "beginning today," the U.S. will get back "control of its border."

The administration will be working in partnership with Mexico to improve safety and economic opportunity for both countries and will have "close coordination" with Mexico to address drug smuggling, he said.

"We're going to save lives on both sides of the border," Trump said.

The National Border Patrol Council, which represents U.S. Border Patrol employees, praised Trump on Twitter, saying it is "a new day for border security and immigration enforcement."

The union, which said it represents 16,500 employees, endorsed Trump for president.

Chris Cabrera, a spokesman for the union, said the group was encouraged by Trump's executive orders.

"It's about time we get this border secured," Cabrera said.

The union feels Border Patrol agents have been constricted "for years," and have been waiting for change, Cabrera said.

"It looks like he's going to hold up his end of the deal and get things done," Cabrera said.

But Trump's orders also prompted criticism, including from national groups.

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism released a statement calling the border wall "a deeply misguided means of addressing the very real challenges facing our immigration system."

"Instead of myopically prioritizing border security alone, we need immigration policies that holistically fulfill our national security imperatives, meet the needs of employers and workers, and unite and strengthen families," the statement said.

Local attorneys also expressed dismay over the orders.

Michael Jarecki, vice chairman of the American Immigration Lawyers Association's Chicago chapter, said, "It's pretty disappointing the president wants to focus on an enforcement-only approach.

"We need to fix the broken immigration system and find a way and a path forward for individuals who are here," Jarecki said.

At the protest in Chicago, a diverse coalition of immigrant rights and community-based organizations took turns denouncing Trump's orders.

"These policies don't work. They don't make us safer. They do the opposite they make us targets of government policy and of racist hate crimes," said Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the Arab American Action Network. "They make immigrant and black communities in this country unsafe."

Abudayyeh said the event was one of many steps the immigration activists are taking to protect "the most vulnerable targets of Trump's agenda."

"None of this is a surprise. Our communities have been bracing themselves for this announcement for a while now and gearing up for resistance to racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic policies from a president who doesn't have a mandate from the people."

Activists from various organizations including Black Lives Matter Chicago, Organized Communities Against Deportations and the Council On American-Islamic Relations also participated in the event. People held signs that read, "Immigrants Are Welcome Here" and "No Ban, No Wall," and "We Will Resist."

"As we fight for change on the federal level, we demand intervention on the local level here in Chicago," said Becky Belcore, of the Korean American Resource and Cultural Center. "Chicago must be a welcoming city for all immigrants and refugees and all targeted communities, and by all, we mean all of our people."

Van Huynh, of Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Chicago, said Trump's immigration policies are a "haunting reminder" of the Chinese Exclusion Act of the 1880s and the Japanese internment camps established during World War II.

"These policies tear families apart and jeopardizes our values as a nation," she said. "I think we're sort of taking steps backwards. A couple of years ago, we were talking about immigration reform, ... and now all of a sudden, we're taking this very expansive role in keeping everyone out."

Associated Press contributed.

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Immigrants, advocates vow to fight Trump orders on wall, sanctuary cities - Chicago Tribune