SLO County immigrant advocate attends State of the Union ‘to take up space’
President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in U.S. history Tuesday night, arguing over the course of 107 minutes that the country had entered “a golden age” as the economy roared back to life and illegal immigration curtailed under his watch.
But a San Luis Obispo County resident sitting in the House of Representatives chamber rebuked the president’s glowing assessment.
“There’s this disconnect between reality and what is being messaged to the American people,” Yessenia Echevarria, the executive director of Mujeres de Acción, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering the county’s Latino population, told The Tribune.
She pointed to the struggles local business owners face due to the administration’s crushing tariffs and the soaring price of grocery store goods, as well as the people left uninsured after massive cuts to Medicaid funding.
“We’re dealing with real life-and-death situations that regardless of what you look like, you too, will be impacted,” she said.
Echevarria attended the annual presidential speech to Congress as Central Coast Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s guest.
In a statement, Panetta said he invited the local immigrant advocate and community organizer because she had personally experienced the administration’s “reckless mass deportation policy.”
“For the State of our Union to be truly strong, we must foster an environment where all law-abiding hard-working members of our community can prosper,” he said in a news release.
Echevarria told The Tribune she was honored and humbled to receive the invitation. As the daughter of Latino immigrants, she said the event was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” that she never considered skipping.
“This is a historical moment, and it holds value regardless of how you vote or how you feel about the current administration,” she said.
Trump touts immigration, economic policy during speech to Congress
During his lengthy speech, Trump cited an array of indicators proving the U.S. economy is rapidly trending upward, highlighting the stock market’s record highs, waning inflation and lowered mortgage rates, gas prices and drug costs.
He rarely mentioned rising cost of living concerns, despite nearly two-thirds of Americans disagreeing with his handling of tariffs and inflation, new polling shows.
Trump also lauded his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
At one point, he urged lawmakers to stand if they believed that the government’s ultimate duty was “to protect American citizens” and “not illegal aliens.”
When Democrats refused to get to their feet, Trump said those sitting “should be ashamed,” and went on to repeatedly call the party “crazy.”
Echevarria said she was disappointed that once again the president chose to villainize undocumented immigrants, using their lives as a weapon to incite fear.
“We know that they’re more than that, right?” she said. “They’re not a liability, they’re an asset.”
Echevarria said she stayed seated during the majority of the address to show her defiance.
“I respect the space that I was in,” she said, “but I have to be consistent to the reality that our families are being faced with in SLO County — that it’s been heartbreaking,” she said.
SLO County woman attends 2026 State of the Union address
Echevarria still considered it “a moment of victory” to be in the room at all.
Since Trump returned to office, she’s mobilized thousands of new people to join Mujeres de Acción as deportations have surged on the Central Coast. The grassroots organization has handed out know-your-rights pamphlets to prepare people for possible encounters with ICE and held forums where families can gather and voice fears about ongoing deportation efforts.
By attending the address, Echevarria said she was able to represent the Latino community and stand in opposition to a harmful MAGA narrative.
“As a Latina, as the daughter of immigrants, as someone who has been personally impacted by this Trump administration ... it’s valuable for Donald Trump to see us,” she added. “It’s valuable for us to take up space.”
Echevarria was one of dozens of guests invited to watch the speech, including pastors, business owners, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring and community members that have been personally impacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
During her visit, Echevarria met with Panetta and several other members of Congress. She received a behind-the-scenes look into what work relationships look like in the U.S. House of Representatives, and noticed a greater camaraderie and willingness to work together than she expected.
At a moment when the country remains deeply divided, she said it was vital for her to lead by example and not live in the “echo chambers of our beliefs,” she told The Tribune.
“I would just encourage people to continue to push themselves, to challenge themselves, to be involved in democracy and to not take the easy road out,” Echevarria said.
