WASHINGTON — Isabel Aguilar had sworn she would not cry on Thursday if the Supreme Court ruled against President Obama’s programs to give deportation protection to immigrants in the country illegally. But she did.

“I am so tired and frustrated,” said Ms. Aguilar, 45, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras living in Maryland. She would have been eligible for protection under the president’s initiatives because two of her children are citizens, born in the United States.

“I was hoping for some relief,” she said. “Now we have to keep on living with this fear.”

Ms. Aguilar was among dozens of immigrants who gathered at the steps of the Supreme Court for the decision as others across the country congregated in city squares, at churches and in front of televisions. The justices’ 4-4 tie left in place an injunction by lower courts on Mr. Obama’s programs that has been in effect since February 2015.

Once word of the decision reached supporters of the president’s programs, a defeated feeling filled the plaza outside the court. As immigrants rolled up their banners and collected their poster boards, they stopped to share hugs, comforting pats on the arm or disappointed half-smiles.