WASHINGTON — One year ago, during the 2014 State of the Union, undocumented immigrant and activist Cristian Avila sat in the House of Representatives gallery as a guest of first lady Michelle Obama. Avila, now 24, is a Dreamer, one of the young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. At the time of Obama’s speech, Avila had completed a weekslong fast on the National Mall to call for immigration reform as part of his work with the advocacy group Mi Familia Vota. His goal was shared by President Barack Obama, who said in his 2014 speech: “Let’s get immigration reform done this year.”
That, of course, did not happen — at least not through Congress, which did not pass any immigration reform bills in 2014. Instead, the year in immigration was marked first by gridlock and later, in November, by Obama’s announcement of sweeping executive actions seeking to shield millions from deportation.
Obama’s decision to act alone on immigration set a new tone, which was on display during the 2015 State of the Union on Tuesday. Rather than imploring Congress to work with him on immigration reform, the president urged lawmakers to stop fighting him on it. It was less a call for teamwork than a request to cease their efforts to stop Obama’s executive orders, which extend protections to Dreamers, as well as parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
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But immigration advocates believe there is is still more to be done. Maria Torres, a 26-year-old who was a guest of Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) at the 2014 State of the Union, is a DACA recipient. She told HuffPost that although she was happy the president went forward with his executive actions, she was “devastated” that the measures would not include her parents. DACA recipients’ parents are ineligible for the new protections, despite lobbying efforts by Dreamers.
Torres watched this year’s State of the Union at home. She said she still hopes for the same thing she did when she attended in 2014 — immigration reform — but thinks it’s unlikely Republicans will approve it this year.
“I have seen progress but I don’t want to be a lot more hopeful because it has been, in several ways, a disappointment not to see a comprehensive bill that protects all workers, all undocumented immigrants from deportation,” she said.
