- Mitch Perry
- Congresswoman Kathy Castor with Jose Godinez-Samperio, her guest for next week's State of the Union address.
When it comes to advocating for comprehensive immigration reform, Tampa-area Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor is all in. Today she continued her strong push for a measure to be passed this year by announcing that 26-year-old Florida State Law School graduate Jose Godinez-Samperio will be her guest for the annual State of the Union address. The speech will be delivered by President Obama on Tuesday night in Washington D.C.
Godinez-Samperio is the Hillsborough County resident who made headlines last fall by attempting to become the first undocumented immigrant to obtain a law license. His case went before the Florida Supreme Court after he earned a law degree from Florida State University and passed the state bar exam last year. The Board of Bar Examiners in Florida said they could find no reason to deny him a license, but asked the state's high court for guidance.
"I hope Congress will say yes to a new immigration system, to say yes to family unity, to say yes to citizenship, to say yes to me," Godinez-Samperio said during a news conference held in the parking lot of the new U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services building in Town n' Country.
