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Leahy wasn't the only Democrat to praise the pope's message on immigration. "It's a big issue to him," said Rep. Marc Veasey, who had urged the pope to talk about the issue. "Poverty, too, which plays into immigration. One of the things that I've been talking about is one of the key components to addressing immigration has to be how well our neighbors are doing to the south. We need a strong Central America, we need a strong Mexico, in order to really help with the issue of immigration and also making opportunities more readily available in those countries. … He got to it."
Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, invited immigration activist Lissette Moreno, who hopes "the Pope's message can help unite our country's leaders," she said in a statement.
Lisette Moreno, 31, of Dallas lined up at the Ellipse at 9 the night before to get a good view.
Having the pope pass right in front of her "was very emotional," she said.
A "DREAMer" — someone brought to the U.S. illegally as a child who hopes to remain — Moreno will also see the pope Thursday in the House chamber as a guest of Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, when the pope speaks to a joint session of Congress
"It was very emotional," she said of having the pope go by right in front of her. A "DREAMer" – someone brought as a child to the U.S. illegally and who hopes to remain – Moreno will also see the pope Thursday in the House of Representatives chamber as a guest of Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, when the pope speaks at a joint session of Congress.
Now Democrats see a chance to use the pope's appearance to advance their own political agenda. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is also planning a series of events this week to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month and the pope's visit to encourage Congress to take up immigration reform. "Pope Francis, we ask you to use your voice to help us advocate for the undocumented and people living in poverty in our community," said Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) in one of the videos.
House Democrats are preparing a wish-list of policies they hope Pope Francis will advocate for during his appearance on Capitol Hill this week. In a series of set to be released...
"Pope Francis, we ask you to use your voice to help us advocate for the undocumented and people living in poverty in our community," said Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) in one of the videos.
The presentation was part of a ceremony held Tuesday at Lockheed Martin, celebrating the first rollout of F-35s being delivered to Norway. Norwegian dignitaries, Lockheed Martin employees and government officials, including U.S. Reps. Kay Granger and Marc Veasey, were in attendance. Other guests walked upon a red carpet as they entered the building.
In a series of short videos released Tuesday, Democrats urge the pontiff to advocate for their issues during his address to Congress. In each video a variety of different lawmakers speak directly to the camera.
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX), Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) also appeared in the immigration video directly into the camera and address their statements and desires to the Pope.
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey said that if the speech mentions immigration reform, his "deepest hope is that the pope's message does not fall on deaf ears and that my Republican colleagues finally bring comprehensive immigration reform to the floor for a vote."
"It is the only way that we as an elected body and as brothers and sisters of the global community can fulfill his call to action and give the undocumented community concrete hope," said Veasey, D-Fort Worth.
WASHINGTON–U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, will bring DREAMer activist Lissette Moreno as his guest to Pope Francis' speech to a joint session of Congress on Sept. 24, he announced Friday afternoon.
Texas lawmakers look forward to Pope Francis' address to Congress
Moreno, under federal protection from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), was brought to Texas as a child by her parents, and received degrees from the University of Texas at Arlington and Texas Women's University under Texas' Dream Act. She testified in support of the law earlier this year.