There are thousands of city students who rely on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to work and go to school. NY1's Ruschell Boone sat down with a group from the City University of New York (CUNY).

Their anxiety over President Trump's decision to end DACA is at an all-time high:

"I'm here with nothing, with uncertainty, and I feel exposed," one student said. 

The back-and-forth between Trump and other top Democrats over possibly saving the program has created an emotional roller coaster for undocumented CUNY students. Some didn't find out they lacked U.S. citizenship until they were about to go to college.

"We're human, and we have feelings and we have worries," one student said. "We're scared, we're nervous."

"We're not a toy for them to just throw on one side, and then the other," said another student.

The students are among the country's 800,000 DACA recipients. Many also belong to the group CUNY DREAMers, a student-led organization that was founded in 2013 to give undocumented students greater access to college.

"We have more than 25,000 people in our network of support that are constantly sending us resources, scholarships," said Monica Sibri, a co-founder of the group.

Some of those resources are put toward political activism. Last week, a handful of students joined a small group of undocumented people from other states for a protest in Washington.

In the city, the fight is on all fronts.

"If we were to lose DACA and nothing happens in Congress, our focus will be absolutely on making sure that Gov. Cuomo and the mayor protect us in our city and in our state," Sibri said.

The students are not fighting alone. The head of CUNY said the school system is also behind them.

CUNY Chancellor James Milliken said there are more than 2,000 DACA students in the university system. Others say that number is much higher when you add the students who don't get financial aid through private organizations.

"We're working with the congressional delegation to make sure that this misguided, short-sided step to phase out DACA is not successful," Milliken said. He also added that CUNY has joined New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to block the effort to phase out the program.

Some said they have a backup plan if they ultimately lose their DACA protections.

"What I'm doing now is saving more money," a student said. "Just in case DACA doesn't work out, I will have some money saved so I will be able to continue to at least get my PhD."