Every member of Congress is allowed to invite one guest to Tuesday night’s State of the Union address. Many usually try to make the spot count by bringing a person who has been especially impacted by public policy. From gun-violence activists to climate change leaders and immigration attorneys, here are the stories of six guests of Democratic lawmakers you should look out for at the February 5 event.
1. Cameron Kasky
On February 1, Representative Eric Swalwell of California announced that he’d invited Cameron Kasky to be his guest for the State of the Union. The 18-year-old gained national recognition last February after surviving the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that claimed 17 lives in Parkland, Florida.
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In the days after the attack, Cameron and a group of fellow survivors founded the Never Again movement and planned the March for Our Lives, in which more than 2 million peopleacross the U.S. protested for an end to gun violence. Although he is no longer involved with March for Our Lives, Cameron continues to be outspoken about politics and civic engagement.
2. Lane Murdock
On April 20, the 19th anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, thousands of students marched out of their classrooms as part of the National School Walkout. The idea for the mass demonstration came from 16-year-old Lane Murdock of Ridgefield, Connecticut, who told Teen Vogue last year that we haven’t seen “concrete change” on gun laws.
On Tuesday night, Lane will be joining Representative Jim Himes of her home state of Connecticut in Washington, D.C. “I try to invite a guest that will make a point,” Himes told the AP. “We will begin to move on legislation.”
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3. Ana Maria Archila
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is making waves as one of the most outspoken members of the newly Democratically controlled Congress — and so is one of her constituents from New York’s 14th District, who will be her guest at the State of the Union.
On September 28, Ana Maria Archila confronted Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator of a Senate office building shortly after he announced that he would be supporting Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. The televised moment quickly went viral as survivors around the world thanked the Colombian organizer and co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy for holding Flake accountable for overlooking sexual-assault allegations against Kavanaugh.
“I believe that by inviting me, AOC is inviting people to join her in breathing life into our democracy. She’s telling women that our stories matter and our voices must be listened to,” Archila tells Teen Vogue. “She’s telling immigrants that we are welcome, that this country is our home, and that she will not give a single dollar for [President Donald] Trump’s racist wall. She’s sending a message to people that by fighting for our lives and the people we love, we can build the country of our dreams.”
4. Marco Villada
When Marco Villada married his husband, Israel Serrato, several years ago, he decided to start the process of becoming a permanent U.S. resident. Villada has lived in California since the age of six and was a DACA recipient, but in order to obtain a green card, he was required by U.S. law to return to Mexico for a consular interview. He obtained a special waiver to ensure his reentry to the U.S. after the interview — but instead, Villada’s application for a visa to reenter the U.S. was wrongfully denied, and he was forced to stay in Mexico for six months in 2018.
With help from the National Immigration Law Center and immigration attorneys, the couple sued the Trump Administration and eventually won in June. Now Villada will be face to face with much of that administration when he hears the president’s speech on Tuesday night as a guest of California representative Lou Correa.
“My husband, Israel, and I are grateful for the opportunity to show decision-makers and the country that despite attempts by some people in power to dehumanize, vilify, and harm our immigrant communities, we are undeniably a part of the fabric of this country,” Villada said in a press release.
5. Varshini Prakash
In 2017, Varshini Prakash cofounded the Sunrise Movement, a coalition of young people working for U.S. leaders to address climate change concerns and stop accepting campaign contributions from billionaires who made their fortune in the fossil-fuel industry. This past winter, she organized sit-ins at the congressional offices of Democrats, spoke about the importance of climate justice and the Green New Deal during protests that included more than 1,000 young activists, and wrote about her climate work for Teen Vogue.
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On February 4, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts announced that he had chosen the “fearless leader” to be his guest at the State of the Union. “My generation is facing an ever more chaotic and uncertain future as the ravages of the climate crisis begin to manifest all around us, hurting communities of color and low-income communities first and worst,” Varshini responded in a press release. “Senator Markey has been a climate leader for decades. I'm grateful for his recognition of the advocacy of thousands of young people and frontline communities to secure a better, safer, healthier world for all of us.”
6. Aissa Olivarez
After Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 83 people in Wisconsin in September, Representative Mark Pocan filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain more information regarding those cases. More than 100 days later, the Wisconsin congressman says he has not received an answer — and as Trump is expected to discuss border security and ICE funding during the State of the Union, Pocan will be joined by Aissa Olivarez, an attorney who has worked with some of the families affected by the September arrests.
“Every individual has certain legal rights, and though they may be undocumented, people who are immigrants still have the right to feel protected in their own community and shouldn’t fear law enforcement,” Olivarez, a staff attorney with the Community Immigration Law Center who helps low-income individuals with legal services and removal proceedings, said in a press release. “When immigrants are detained and separated from family, it’s easy to lose hope…. My goal as an attorney is to let people know they are not alone in this fight for their rights. I’m excited to join Congressman Pocan for the State of the Union and to raise awareness of the many challenges that immigrants face under our current legal system and under this administration.”
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