SAN BERNARDINO >> Two dozen protesters organized by a Claremont-based group had a concise message Monday for the Supreme Court as it considers President Barack Obama’s immigration programs: No amnesty.

It’s not that they’re not compassionate, several of them volunteered — in fact, it’s the opposite.

“I’m an immigrant myself, but I did it the right way,” said Sabine Durden, 58, a German immigrant living in Moreno Valley. She wore a shirt declaring her son was “hit and killed by an unlicensed illegal alien on 7-12-2012.”

“My son was a 911 dispatcher who helped everyone, and after he was killed, I couldn’t get anything — because the person who killed him was gone,” Durden said.

Juan Zacarias Tzun pleaded guilty in 2013 to vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 180 more in a work-release program for the crash that killed Dominic Durden, who was a 30-year-old Riverside County Sheriff’s dispatcher. Tzun was deported to his native Guatemala in 2014.

The rally in front of San Bernardino City Hall came as the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments over Obama’s immigration policies and as more than 20 activists in Riverside said Obama’s initiatives are crucial for local undocumented families who want a better quality of life.

For Blanca Olivares, 39, of San Bernardino, having that initiative move forward could mean better paying jobs for her and her husband. Olivares, who works in fast food, has two children who are U.S. citizens. She envisions buying a home and opening a party supply business.

Olivares, who attended the downtown Riverside rally on Monday, said she’s applied for other jobs, but it’s been tough without a Social Security number.

“It’s hard being denied work,” she said. “You can’t have the job you want.”

Meanwhile, in San Bernardino, protesters alleged that they were unable to get jobs because people illegally in the country filled them instead.

“Blacks are losing jobs to illegals, which is discrimination,” said Chanell Temple, an African American woman who held a sign decrying the ‘media blackout’ of that aspect of the immigration debate. “The 14th Amendment was created for black slaves, not illegals.”

The 14th Amendment makes anyone born in the United States a citizen, and is not part of the case the Supreme Court is considering.

Texas is leading 26 states dominated by Republicans in challenging the immigration programs that Obama announced in 2014 and that have been put on hold by lower courts.

The administration’s best hope for a favorable ruling after 90 minutes of arguments at the high court appeared to rest with Chief Justice John Roberts. Roberts asked questions suggesting he could side with the administration if there were a small change in the proposed programs.

The administration is asking the justices to allow two programs that could shield roughly 4 million people from deportation and make them eligible to work in the U.S.

The programs would apply to parents whose children are citizens or are living in the country legally. Eligibility also would be expanded for the president’s 2012 effort that applies to people who were brought here illegally as children. More than 700,000 people have taken advantage of that earlier program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

The new program for parents, known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, and the expanded program for children could reach as many as 4 million people, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.

That includes 79,000 in San Bernardino County and 91,000 in Riverside County, according to the institute.

Protesters organized by We The People Rising from Claremont held signs and chanted in front of San Bernardino City Hall for about two hours. They then delivered a letter to the Mexican Consulate across the street.

That took them across the path of people waiting in line at the IRS, who for the most part were not supportive.

“That’s bulls—, and you’re racists,” said Brandon Rugley. “Supposedly the great thing about America is you can come and build a life in America, but you don’t get that, do you?”

The high court is expected to decide by late June whether the efforts can move forward in the waning months of Obama’s presidency, amid a presidential campaign that has been marked by harsh Republican rhetoric over immigration.

If the court is split ideologically, the case could end in a 4-4 tie following Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February. That would leave the programs in limbo, almost certainly through the end of Obama’s presidency.

Both sides acknowledge that the outcome of the presidential election could determine the programs’ fates, even if the high court rules for the administration. Republican candidates have pledged to roll back Obama’s actions, and Republican candidate Donald Trump has proposed deporting roughly 11 million people who are living in the U.S. illegally.

Local members of Congress also weighed in.

Officials including Rep. Norma Torres, D-Chino, and Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, met Monday with immigration activists and California residents who would be eligible under the programs, he said in a news release.

“I urge the Supreme Court to do the right thing and keep Latino and other immigrant families together instead of tearing them apart,” Aguilar said. “We’re talking about mothers, fathers, sons and daughters — this is about shielding families from the devastating possibility of being ripped from their homes and families.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was edited to correct the spelling of the man convicted of vehicular manslaughter, killing Dominic Durden.