FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Immigrants and activists who gathered across California on Thursday night to watch President Barack Obama announce that he’ll shield millions of people from deportation displayed quiet optimism and guarded emotion more than enthusiasm after watching the speech.

Groups gathered in cities including San Diego, Fresno, Los Angeles and Santa Rosa to watch the president’s remarks in a state whose number of immigrants makes the stakes especially high.

"This is a great day for farmworkers," said Jesus Zuniga, 40, who has worked in the Central Valley picking tomatoes for 14 years without proper documents. "It’s been worth the pain and sacrifice."

Zuniga was among several dozen who gathered in a Fresno community center to hear the president’s speech, watching quietly as they held red United Farm Worker flags.

In San Diego, a few dozen people applauded Obama’s speech at the offices of Alliance San Diego, an immigrant advocacy group.

"Today our hearts are warmed," said Christian Ramirez, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition. "Go home with a smile."

The speech got a more mixed reaction from activists in Los Angeles.

Immigration attorney Vanessa Garcia said the required background checks under Obama’s actions will mean "a lot of people are left out because they have one DUI from when they were 21 or whatever."

"We’re happy that a lot of people are going to benefit from this, Garcia said. "But there’s more work to be done still."

Obama announced far-reaching executive action on immigration that will allow nearly 5 million people now in the U.S. illegally to avoid deportation.

With deeper roots than many in other U.S. states, Mexican immigrants in California could be among the main beneficiaries of the president’s actions, which favor those who have been in the U.S. for more than five years but whose children are citizens or lawful permanent residents.

Javier Silva, 20, said he would no longer live in fear of being deported, and job opportunities would open. The junior at San Diego State University came to the country illegally when he was 4 years old and spent most of his life in Southern California except for a return to Mexico from 2005 to 2007. He would appear to be eligible for relief, as would his parents because his two younger brothers were born in the U.S.

"It’s been a very emotional day," he said after the speech. "Bittersweet because a lot of the community will be left out."

Attorneys told the audience that anyone in the country illegally and might qualify should carry photo identification, bills, leases and their children’s birth certificates if they are threatened with deportation.

"Right now there is no line to get into," attorney Matthew Holt told the audience. "There’s no form. Tell your friends it’s going to take a few more weeks."

The move won measured praise from the state’s largely Democratic leadership, including Gov. Jerry Brown, who said in a statement that the president "stepped up for hard-working families across America" in the face of Washington gridlock but called on Congress to "finish the job."

Not all Californians celebrated. Escondido Mayor Sam Abed, who has championed local policies aimed at reducing illegal immigration in his city of 150,000 people, said he wouldn’t listen to Obama’s speech.

"This president has failed this country. He has failed the rule of law," Abed said. "It’s abuse of power. This should be done by the Congress."

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Spagat reported from San Diego. Raquel Maria Dillon contributed to this report from Los Angeles.