When Cal State Fullerton student Miriam Tellez attended Tuesday’s State of the Union address, she described it as a validation of her immigrant journey.
“It was definitely like a fantasy,” Tellez said. “It was amazing being in a room where history is made.”
Tellez, 22, received an invitation from Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-Yorba Linda), who wanted to show support for recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which granted protection from deportation to hundreds of thousands of undocumented people brought over as children. Tellez was one of these so-called “Dreamers.”
“[Tellez] is a leader in her community at Cal State Fullerton as an advocate for supporting our Dreamers and [temporary protected status] holders who are seeking higher education degrees,” Cisneros said in a news release. “Dreamers are students, service members, neighbors and our friends.”
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