A Southern California DACA university student will be in attendance at Thursday night's State of the Union.
Valeria Delgado is a fourth-year student at Chapman University studying to become a physician’s assistant in pediatrics.
Tonight, she hopes President Joe Biden makes new promises to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that’s afforded her and millions more the opportunity to go to school and work, even as non-citizens.
“I'm so excited to be here, and really what my hope is just to bring to light how important it is to continue the DACA program,” said Delgado.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Delgado came to the United States from Mexico with her parents when she was just two years old.
“I am looking to have a career in the future in medicine, and I just want to let everyone know of this amazing opportunity and why we should just help support this program and hopefully offer a pathway to citizenship in the future,” said Delgado.
The university chose Delgado, as a guest of Orange County congressman Lou Correa, to represent the school, hoping her story reinforces what’s at stake for Dreamers like her.
“I think that the president has such big power in saying this and being able to bring to light the importance of hopefully supporting this program and, if possible, offer a pathway to citizenship,” said Delgado.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, there are currently 580,310 DACA participants. The vast – 469,070 – come from Mexico, and the largest share of recipients (28%) lives in California.
“We have to bring awareness to the fact that, like I said, we are all just equal members, contributing to society. I pay my taxes, I give back to my community, I volunteer and set up services for veterans,” said Delgado.
“A lot of people don't understand that DACA is not a pathway to citizenship specifically, but it does provide so many opportunities for people that were once undocumented,” said Delgado.
