WASHINGTON — When President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday night, a Northern Virginia teenager will be in the House chamber watching.
Nicolle Uria, 17, a senior at Annandale High School, is among the nation’s immigrant children hoping for protection since the president ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. She’ll be a guest of Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat representing Virginia’s 11th District.
“Never would I have imagined myself, two years ago, in this position since I had found out that I was undocumented,” Uria said.
At the age of 15, Nicolle learned from her parents that her family had overstayed their work visas from Bolivia to reside in the United States.
“I pretty much led a normal life. I was never very worried until now,” Uria said.
The teenager — who works on the school newspaper, plays volleyball and tutors elementary school students — acknowledges she’s been thrust into the political spotlight.
“I will be representing 800,000 Dreamers across this nation, and I’m very excited to do that and also to be a voice,” Uria said.
Her dreams are to go to college, study communications and become a journalist. Her fear is being sent back to the South American nation that she left at the age of 1.
“I am very afraid to go back to Bolivia mostly because America is my home,” she said. “This is the only place I can identify with.”
Uria hopes her visit to the Capitol calls attention to the plight she shares with other young immigrants.
“We want to study,” she said. “We want to expand our knowledge, give back to the community.”
Others in Uria’s situation will be among the visitors in the House gallery Tuesday night. They include Gabriela Hernandez, a student at Prince George’s Community College. She’ll be a guest of House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, a Democrat representing Maryland’s 5th District. At the age of 4, Hernandez came to the U.S. from El Salvador with her mother.
