Cal State Fullerton DACA Student To Attend State Of The Union
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – When President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union to Congress Tuesday, a California State University, Fullerton student will be in attendance.
Senior Miriam Tellez, 22, will be a guest of Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros. The sociology student is also a DACA recipient.
"It is with humility and responsibility to my undocumented peers and my family that I am choosing to be present and visible at the State of the Union address," said Tellez in a statement released through the school.
The embattled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, was created by former President Barack Obama which allows about 780,000 people, known as Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as undocumented children to receive a permit that lets them continue to live and work here. The Trump administration attempted to end the program in September 2017, but his decision was overturned by the courts.
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Cal State Fullerton has a Dreamers Resource Center to support undocumented students.
Cisneros represents the 39th congressional district, which includes Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties, including the cities of Fullerton, Buena Park, Diamond Bar and Yorba Linda.
In a closely contested race last November that came down to the wire, Cisneros won the seat formerly held by retiring Rep. Ed Royce by the slimmest of margins, defeating Republican challenger Young Kim. It was part of a blue wave of four Republican-held House seats that flipped to the Democrats in the historically Republican stronghold of O.C.
