(CNN) -- Sitting in the first lady's box listening to the President Barack Obama push for movement on immigration reform, Cristian Avila no longer had to keep his head down and live in fear of being deported. While the President dedicated only a brief part of his State of the Union address to immigration, his message went beyond his speech, and the evidence was sitting among the guests invited to join the first lady in the viewing box. "I feel honored and excited to be here. If it wasn't for receiving my DACA last summer I wouldn't have been able to attend the State of the Union," Avila told CNN.
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Sitting in the first lady's box was DREAMer Cristian Avila
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"If it wasn't for receiving my DACA last summer I wouldn't be here," activist said
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Avila caught the attention of Obama administration during his 22-day immigration fast
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He's optimistic about immigration reform despite fearing his parents being deported
@placeholder pleaded for cooperation and pointed out how getting immigration reform done this year was important for the country's recovering economy.
Still, @placeholder remains optimistic that immigration reform will happen in 2014.