Each member of Congress can bring a guest to the State of the Union Address, and some from Texas are using the speech to advocate on both sides of immigration.
Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) is bringing Priscilla Martinez. Her husband was killed in Forney last year by a neighbor she says had previously told them Hispanics were not welcome there.
"My kids have to now live and grow up without their dad here just for hate, just for the color of their skin," Priscilla Martinez says.
Martinez says she was born in the United States along with her parents and one of her grandparents.
Castro says Martinez' case came a month before the Allen Outlet Mall shooting. Police say the suspect in that case was a white supremacist.
In 2019, the FBI says a gunman started shooting in a Walmart in El Paso. The FBI investigated that shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime.
"In response to this crisis of hate, our state and national leaders should be coming together to speak out against hate and white supremacy and reassure all Texans the state will protect them," Castro says.
Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (R-Irving) will bring Thomas Homan, who served as director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during part of the Trump Administration.
"Tom Homan's presence with me at the State of the Union address is a reminder that I remain focused and determined to end the Biden Border Disaster, which threatens our entire nation," Van Duyne wrote in a statement.
Senator Ted Cruz' guest will be the Presidio County sheriff. Danny Dominguez is a Democrat, but Cruz' office says the two share a "bipartisan interest in ending the chaos and lawlessness that is not only making Texas, but America, less safe."
"In the last 3 years, the crisis at our southern border has gotten out of control. Crime has increased and our resources are limited. My fellow law enforcement officers are facing deadly risks every single day," Dominguez wrote in a statement sent by Cruz' office.
"Senator Cruz has been leading the fight since day one to secure our border for the sake of our communities. I am proud and honored to be Senator Cruz's guest for the State of the Union."
Fellow Republican Senator John Cornyn talked about the role immigration should play in the State of the Union on the Senate floor Thursday.
"The American people are pretty smart, and they're pretty perceptive," Cornyn said, "They understand the crisis at our border is a manmade crisis, and that man is President Biden."
Cornyn said President Joe Biden is using executive orders and "dismantling" border security measures put in place during the Trump Administration.
"I hope the president accepts responsibility for what's happened the last three years, and I hope his remarks reflect the urgency of this crisis he created," Cornyn said. "But the truth is I won't be holding my breath."
The State of the Union address is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Central Thursday.
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