APOPKA, Fla. — When President Joe Biden delivers his State of The Union address to congress on Thursday, at least two Central Floridians will be in the audience.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden is set to deliver his annual State of the Union address Thursday night

  • Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, immigration advocate and executive director for Hope Community Center in Apopka, has been selected by Rep. Maxwell Frost to attend

  • Congressman Darren Soto also invited Stephanie Palacios with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
  • The two invited guests say there are many issues that they hope will be addressed during Biden's speech

Representatives from Central Florida have added two guests to the invite list for Thursday’s State of the Union address.

Both explained what they hope to hear from the president on Thursday night.

Rep. Maxwell Frost invited Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, an immigration advocate and executive director for the Hope Community Center in Apopka.

“I’m really excited and extremely honored for the opportunity to give voice to immigrants in Central Florida in Washington D.C.,” said Sousa-Lazaballet.

He said Frost called him last week to personally invite him. 

“I really felt like that was a recognition of the work Hope does, so Hope Community Center has been here for over 50 years and we serve 20,000 people, hundreds of asylum seekers, and we know first-hand the impact that asylum can have in the lives of people,” he said.

He hopes President Joe Biden sees immigrants and asylum seekers as a critical part of our nation.

“Our country was built on people running away from persecution from other places," Sousa-Lazaballet said. "I really hope the president sees me and sees us and hears this message: immigrants are not the problem. We are part of the solution."

He emphasizes he’ll be going there to advocate for immigrants. 

“I feel like David fighting against Goliath, but just like in the biblical story David won, and I believe that if we stick together, we can win,” he said.

Sousa-Lazaballet came to the U.S., when he was 14 and was undocumented for 15 years. Recently, though, he became a U.S. citizen.

He said he has dreamt of that accomplishment all his life, and is hoping to share it with others.

“It feels full circle to be going to Washington D.C. to fight for people like me who have dreams like mine and have the willingness to contribute so much, but because of a lack of Social Security or a lack of documentation, are persecuted and afraid of deportation," he said.

Sousa-Lazaballet said he won't just carry his personal story to the U.S. Capitol, but also the stories of thousands of immigrants he works with in Apopka.

He will be back to Orlando on Friday because Hope Community Center is hosting a 6 p.m. women’s march for International Women’s Day at Lake Eola. 

He isn’t the only Central Floridian in Washington for the State Of The Union speech. Rep. Darren Soto also invited Stephanie Palacios, who is the director of advocacy and government relations at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. 

“I hope to hear President Biden mention how grocery prices are still consistently high and some families who may not have been feeling that pinch at the grocery store a few months ago, or maybe a year ago are starting to feel that pinch when they first go to the grocery store,” she said. “I hope that he addresses that he’s aware that this is a problem and that having strong support for a nutrition program so we can help. Those families who may be struggling to make ends meet.”

Palacios has been in Washington, D.C. since Tuesday, speaking with members of Congress and their staff about the importance of passing a bipartisan farm bill. 

She said her hope is that lawmakers will double the funding for the emergency food assistance program in this year’s farm bill.