First Ever Dreamer Rhodes Scholar – Who Resides in Queens – to be Congresswoman Meng’s Guest at State of the Union Address

January 31, 2019
Press Release

DACA recipient Jin Park of Flushing fears he will not be permitted to re-enter U.S. if he leaves the country for scholarship; Congresswoman invites Park to President’s speech to stand against administration’s immigration policies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an effort to stand against President Trump's cruel immigration policies, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) announced today that Jin Park of Flushing, Queens, the first Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient to be awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, will be the Congresswoman's guest for this year's State of the Union address next week.
Park, 22, is a recent Harvard graduate and Define American Chapter Leader who won a Rhodes Scholarship for this fall at the University of Oxford in England. But since President Trump moved to end the DACA program, Park fears that he will not be permitted to re-enter the United States if he leaves the country to study at the school.
"Inviting Jin Park to Washington for the State of the Union will bring more attention to his plight and show firsthand how President Trump's un-American immigration policies are shattering the lives of DREAMers," said Congresswoman Meng. "In September 2017, President Trump ended the DACA program and since then the lives of 700,000 young people across the country have hung in limbo. It is unconscionable that the President has put their hopes and dreams of a better future in jeopardy, and that includes Jin's fate as well. It is shameful that Jin may have to abandon this coveted opportunity for a Rhodes Scholarship, an opportunity that he worked tirelessly to achieve. I'm to proud stand in solidarity with him and I will continue to fight against the divisive policies that have been hallmark of the President's administration."
"It is such an honor to be invited to the State of the Union by Congresswoman Meng," said Park. "As a DACA recipient and a resident of her district in Queens, I look forward to attending the State of the Union to listen, learn, and discuss the importance of legislation to find a permanent solution for DACA recipients and all 11 million undocumented immigrants."
Park was brought to the U.S. by his parents from South Korea at the age of seven. The DACA program, which former President Barack Obama created by executive action in 2012, allowed qualified immigrants who were brought to the country as children to receive work permits and stay in the U.S. Federal courts have blocked the President's effort to terminate DACA and the future of the program remains unresolved.
The State of the Union will take place on Tuesday.