By Markus Schmidt
Ambar Pinto, a young Fairfax County woman advocating immigration reform, has the rare chance of taking her case to Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
After reading about Pinto’s story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch last week, Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., decided to invite her to be his guest at President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech.
“I was moved by her obvious love for this country and by her willingness to work extra hard to have a shot at achieving the American dream,” Warner said.
Pinto, 19, is an undocumented immigrant from Bolivia. She came to Virginia seven years ago with her parents and younger brother, using a counterfeit visa to cross the border from Mexico. She’s a graduate of Fairfax High School and a sophomore at Northern Virginia Community College, majoring in international business.
“Ms. Pinto’s dreams and her drive represent the promise of so many young people across Virginia,” Warner said. “Her story reminds each of us that our commonwealth will become stronger when we create a responsible pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants and their children,” he said.
Paying $2,500 per semester at her community college, Pinto had big hopes for the success of the Virginia DREAM Act, a proposal that would have allowed eligible undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates. Last week, the House Education panel backed the bill, but it stalled in a House Appropriations Committee. The Senate Education and Health Committee defeated similar legislation.
Pinto said she was disappointed with the bill’s failure but now hopes Washington will take on comprehensive immigration reform. She will meet with Warner on Tuesday before attending the president’s speech before a joint session of Congress.
Members of Congress are allowed to bring one guest to the event. Some refer to the invite as the “golden ticket.”
“This is such a big honor. It is very exciting,” Pinto said. “I am very involved in my community, but I never expected to get something back in return. It will be an unforgettable experience.”
