WATCH AGAIN: Hundreds In Chicago Protest DACA Repeal (VIDEO)

CHICAGO, IL — Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Chicago will continue "to welcome dreamers," and city officials plan to "pursue every legal option to protect our children, defend our immigrant communities and uphold the enduring promise of the American Dream" after the Trump administration announced Tuesday that it was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Obama-era policy protected about 800,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors from being deported.

"We cannot admit everyone who would like to come here," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in declaring the end of the program, which he criticized as "executive amnesty." "It's just that simple."

Emanuel, President Barack Obama's first chief of staff, had been a proponent of the program since its inception in 2012, and his support falls in line with Chicago's continued adherence to its sanctuary city status. As a sanctuary city, Chicago remains a safe haven for undocumented immigrants by not requiring local agencies to go after residents based on their status as U.S. citizens. In fact, Emanuel double-downed on the city's commitment to immigrants Tuesday, declaring Chicago and its schools "Trump-free zones" from the administration's immigration policies. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Watch: The Trump Administration Just Announced The End Of DACA

RELATED: Jeff Sessions: DACA Is Being Rescinded

"It is a betrayal of more than 800,000 children who have done nothing wrong and of the unique role the United States has played in the world for centuries," Emanuel said in a statement Tuesday in response to the elimination of the DACA program. "The United States is a nation of immigrants, not a country that tears families apart or deports children who have placed their faith in the promise of America. I know countless dreamers in Chicago who are talented, hard-working and dedicated to their families and the only home they have ever known."

WATCH: Hundreds turn out to protest the elimination of the DACA program. Some harsh language throughout. Viewer discretion is advised.

Emanuel's reaction was followed later Tuesday by hundreds of people protesting the Trump administration's decision concerning the DACA program. The event started at around 5:30 p.m., and demonstrators marched to the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building, 230 S. Dearborn St. It was one of a series of protests against the elimination of the program planned around the country. About 1,300 people said they would attend the protest, according to the event's Facebook page.

Emanuel and the Trump administration have been publicly sparring over immigration policies and Chicago's sanctuary city status since the president was elected in November. Recently, Sessions attacked the mayor and his administration for adopting "an official policy of protecting criminal aliens who prey on their own residents" after the City of Chicago filed a lawsuit last month against the U.S. Department of Justice for creating new grant requirements that would withhold federal money for crime prevention based on the municipality's sanctuary city status.

WATCH: U.S. Rep. Luis Guiterrez (D-4th District) speaks out about the Trump administration's decision to end the DACA program:

The mayor wasn't the only local Democratic elected official to denounce the Trump administration's decision. U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Luis Guiterrez also blasted the move.

RELATED: Jeff Sessions Blasts Chicago's DOJ Lawsuit: Follow The Law Or No Federal Money

"In my first conversation with President Trump on Inauguration Day, I thanked him for the positive things he said about the Dreamers," Durbin, the Senate's minority whip, said in a statement. "He looked me in the eye and said: 'Don't worry. We are going to take care of those kids.'

"Despite many of the terrible immigration policies this Administration has put forward, I have always held out the hope that President Trump would keep his word and 'take care' of the Dreamers. After all, the President told America, 'we love the Dreamers.'

"But today's announcement from Attorney General Sessions was cold, harsh, threatening, and showed little respect, let alone love, for these Dreamers."

Patch Editors Cody Fenwick and Jonah Meadows contributed to this report.

Hundreds protest the Trump administration's repeal of the DACA program Tuesday, Sept. 5, in downtown Chicago. (Photo by Jonah Meadows)

Mayor Rahm Emanuel (Photo via Patch archive)

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