BOULDER, Colo. – Students in Colorado and New Mexico are ditching class today to send President Trump a message about his administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Trump announced on Tuesday that the federal government will gradually phase out the DACA program, which was created by President Obama in 2012 to deliver amnesty to roughly 800,000 illegal immigrants who were brought to America by their parents as children.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

Trump wrote in a prepared statement that the program is an illegal overreach by the executive branch that cannot be successfully defended in court. Currently, 10 states are suing the federal government to terminate the program for a variety of reasons, most notably because Obama lacked the authority to create it in the first place.

“Therefore, in the best interests of our country, and in keeping with the obligations of my office, the Department of Homeland Security will begin an orderly transition and wind-down of DACA, one that provides minimal disruption,” Trump wrote, according to Fox News.

The department will no longer accept new applications for work permits, and those in place now will remain in effect for up to two full years. Applications already in the works will be processed, and current permits will not begin to expire for at least six months.

“Thus, in effect, I am not going to just cut DACA off, but rather provide a window of opportunity for Congress to finally act,” Trump wrote, noting the power to create laws rests squarely on the legislative branch.

Students in Colorado and New Mexico apparently don’t appreciate the president’s more principled approach.

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

Around 11:30 a.m., roughly 7,000 students from two Denver high schools walked out of class to protest the decision at local parks and a nearby college campus, CBS Denver reports.

Students toted pre-made signs that read “Don’t Touch My DACA” as police escorted them along their route, according to Fox 31.

“I already have to work twice as hard for this stuff. So taking it away, it’s going to be three times harder to get the things that I want. What everybody has,” DACA recipient Fabiola Flores told CBS Denver.

Monica Acosta, field director for the immigrant rights group Padres Unidios, supported students in the walkout because she believes “elected officials have failed to give us a permanent solution,” despite Trump’s effort to do exactly that.

“I think it’s going to be really powerful to see that it’s students and it’s young people (walking out) because the DACA Act really affects that population,” Acosta groaned.

It was a similar situation in Boulder, where dozens of Boulder High School students left class to waive signs and yell at motorists from the sidewalk in front of the school.

“Everybody knows someone under this program,” 15-year-old walkout organizer Ellory Boyd told the Daily Camera.

Kimberly Aleman, whose brother and sister attend a Denver college with a DACA permit, said she left class “to speak up for my people.”

Students in New Mexico are also walking out of class and planning rallies to protest Trump’s decision, some with the explicit support of school officials.

According to the Albuquerque Journal:

NM Dream Team, an organization that advocates for the roughly 8,000 New Mexico youth who benefit from DACA, organized walkouts at the University of New Mexico, Central New Mexico Community College and nine high schools across Albuquerque. Others are planned around the state.

At 4 p.m., the protesters will gather Downtown for a rally at Civic Plaza.

Albuquerque Public Schools officials took to Facebook to support the student activists, though they warned that leaving class before the end of the school day will result in an unexcused absence.

“We cannot be responsible for the safety and security of students who choose to leave campus,” the APS message states. “While we are concerned about students walking long distances on busy streets and roads to participate in the protest, we will not provide transportation or chaperones to monitor students during the walk or rally.”

Other school officials, however, are taking a different approach.

Santa Fe Community College President Randy Grissom called on all of the school’s students, staff and faculty to participate in a walk out and rally that started at noon, the Journal reports.

“Santa Fe Community College is devoted to helping students improve their lives through accessible and affordable education. Discrimination and inequality are anathema to this goal. Dreamers, we value and support you. You are part of what makes the college great. Santa Fe Community College stands with you,” Grissom wrote.