Advocate had 'no idea' Obama would name her during his speech on immigration reform

Advocate had &#039;no idea&#039; Obama would name her during his speech on immigration reform

(Image credit: Twitter.com/rorycarroll72)

last updated 10 January 2015

College student Astrid Silva never thought that President Obama would share her story during his Thursday evening address on immigration reform.

Obama spoke about how Silva taught herself English by watching PBS and reading newspapers, and despite protests by her parents, applied to a technology magnet school — they were afraid their immigration status would be discovered. Silva decided to become an advocate for immigration reform when she realized that if she went to Mexico for her grandmother's funeral, she might not be able to come back to the U.S.

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Obama's address gave Silva some peace of mind, she said. Her father has had an order of deportation since 2001, and Silva told MSNBC that her family lives with the fear "every single day they're going to take him and we'll never see him again." Now, though, she believes "this won't be our last holiday together. I know so many families who will benefit. We need to keep fighting until Congress does something."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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