Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced today that Astrid Silva, a DREAMer and immigration reform advocate from Las Vegas, Nevada, will be her guest at President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
“Astrid’s story is one of thousands of young people across the country: an unwavering hope that the only country they know and call home will allow the future they have worked so hard to build for their families,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Her courage to speak up on behalf of those who share the same struggle helped put the national spotlight on our broken immigration system, and thousands just like Astrid who were brought to this country as children have inspired policies to fix it. At a time when immigrant are constantly under attack, Astrid serves as a reminder that we are a country that fights for those who need protection, and one that gives opportunities for all to live up to their full potential regardless of where you come from. I will continue to fight alongside Astrid to protect hardworking families from mean-spirited attacks that threaten to separate them, and to pass comprehensive immigration reform once and for all.”
“I’m here to represent millions of immigrant families who now live in even greater fear of being separated from their loved ones,” said Astrid Silva. “I want to thank Senator Cortez Masto for fighting for families like mine – most recently by introducing legislation that will rescind President Trump’s mass deportation executive order. I am proud to represent Nevada and the thousands of DREAMers across the country as her guest to President Trump’s congressional address to show him that we, too, are Americans. Separating families like mine is not the way to fix our immigration problems. I hope President Trump will be listening when I deliver the Democratic response tomorrow night.”
Astrid Silva came to the United States with her parents when she was just four years old and lived in Las Vegas, Nevada since she was five. Silva is one of the most prominent advocates of comprehensive immigration reform and one of the most vocal leaders on immigrants’ rights in the country. She graduated from Nevada State College in 2016 with a degree in History and founded DREAM Big Vegas, an organization that advocates for undocumented families. She was named Youth Immigrant of the Year for the American Immigration Council in 2014, received the Humanitarian Award from Nevada State College and was most recently named a rising Civil Rights leader by the Los Angeles Times. Tomorrow night, Silva will make history as the first DREAMer to deliver a response to a presidential address.
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