Rep. Ruiz invites local DACA recipient as his virtual guest for State of the Union address

Alma Benito is a 22-year old trilingual dreamer who has lived nearly all her life in Thermal. Tonight she had a front row seat to virtually attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

“Makes me excited, at first I was really nervous when I was told, it makes me excited because I get to represent the thousands of Dreamers like me,” Benito said.

For the past year, Benito has been working tirelessly to encourage her community to get vaccinated. She speaks English, Spanish and Tarasco, the language spoken by the Purepechas, an indigenous group originally from Michoacan, Mexico.

Benito has been instrumental in motivating her tribal neighbors who live in the east valley get a COVID-19 shot.

“They are not comfortable with the idea of getting vaccinated, but when they see a familiar, they are more comfortable with that idea,” Benito said.

Benito immigrated with her family from Mexico at the age of five.

“The first time I realized I was Dreamer, I was in hs, when I was trying to apply to college, that’s when I realized that I didn’t have the same opportunities as any other kids,” Benito said.

Despite many roadblocks to achieve a piece of her American dream, in a few weeks she’ll be a certified phlebotomist.

“We’ve seen how easy it is for a judge to put a pause on DACA, it makes me nervous, it makes us angry," Benito said.

Benito was invited by Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz to be a virtual guest for the speech.

“She’s an incredibly bright young lady who dreams about contributing to our democracy,” Ruiz said.

Benito hoped Biden touches on the need for Congress to pass immigration reform soon.

“I know that there is a lot of things going in the world right now in the world today but we’re just here to say you know we are here, were continuing our fight, so that they Don't forget about us,” Benito said.

You can watch the full State of the Union address below: