Colorado’s top prosecutor accused the Trump administration of a “bait and switch” scam when the president pulled protections against deportation for immigrants brought to the country as children.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser leveled the allegation during a press conference at Metropolitan State University of Denver on Tuesday morning.

Weiser was one of the Colorado government, education and business leaders who defended beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. President Obama signed the so-called Dream Act in 2012. Those who signed up were called Dreamers after they provided the government their immigration status on the promise they could stay in this country as long as they paid taxes and maintained good conduct. In 2017 President Trump signed an executive order ending the program.

“The federal government made a promise to the Dreamers,” Weiser said. “… Right now that security is being threatened by the same federal government in what threatens to be the worst, most painful bait and switch I can think about, which is part of why I’m so passionate about this issue.” 

Colorado is one of 22 states challenging Trump’s decision. Oral arguments began before the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday morning. A decision isn’t expected until sometime in 2020, a critical election year for the president.

Hispanic voters are an emerging bloc that Democrats hope to capitalize on next year. 

The Pew Research Center expects 27.3 million eligible Latino voters in the United States next year, 12% of the electorate. Latino voters, however, have been less likely to turn in ballots, 27% in 2014 compared to 43% of eligible white voters. The number of Latino voters nearly doubled in 2018 compared to four years earlier, however.

There are more than 700,000 DACA recipients nationwide, and at least 15,000 in Colorado.

“It’s about the ethos of who we are as Coloradans,” Weiser told the crowd in the Jordan Student Success Building, beneath a banner that said Denver (hearts) immigrants. “Who are we as Americans?”

On the same morning that Trump tweeted, “Many of the people in DACA, no longer very young, are far from ‘angels.’ Some are very tough, hardened criminals,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold provided a different view.

She spoke to the crowd, at first, in Spanish, then told a story about a family neighbor, who is undocumented, who helped her find her mother during the 2013 floods in Estes Park.

“I never considered his legal status,” she said. “He was my friend. He was my neighbor, and he went and found my mom. I think it’s so important that when we are talking about immigration, when we’re talking about DACA, we are talking about our neighbors and friends.”

Colorado’s U.S. senators, Republican Cory Gardner and Democrat Michael Bennet, have worked in vain to find a compromise between the parties to save the program.

 RELATED: Cory Gardner, Michael Bennet propose DACA fix with $25 billion for border security

The state Democratic Party is hoping to unseat Gardner next year, and a spokeswoman was quick to point out that when Gardner was a House member in 2013 he opposed the original Dream Act, calling it “amnesty for illegal immigrants” that would serve to encourage more illegal immigration.

Jeff Wasden, president of the Colorado Business Roundtable, at Tuesday’s rally called immigration a complicated issue with many tentacles, but he said finding a solution is critical to the nation’s future.

He spoke of the “harmful, dangerous rhetoric” that is impeding progress.

“When you start talking about walls and deportation, it’s time for the business community to stand up and take notice,” he said. “When you start to question our values and our judgment, our values of who we are as a country, it’s important.”

Weiser opened the Colorado push for Dreamers Tuesday, and Gov. Jared Polis, fellow Boulder Democrat, is expected to pick up the mantle Thursday.

His office announced Tuesday, before Weiser’s rally, that the governor would join Dreamers, the American Civil Liberties Union and The Immigration Hub, a left-leaning advocacy group, to discuss DACA.

The discussion will be conducted on a conference call with reporters.