Immigrant janitor’s trip to D.C.: “It was a dream come true”

<figure id="attachment_25800" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25800" style="width: 216px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/featured/immigrant-janitors-trip-to-d-c-it…; rel="attachment wp-att-25800"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-25800" alt="Rosa Lopez in Washington, D.C., with Congressman Juan Vargas, who invited her to attend the State of the Union. " src="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SEIU-UHWW-state…; width="216" height="221"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-25800" class="wp-caption-text">Rosa Lopez in Washington, D.C., with Congressman Juan Vargas, who invited her to attend the State of the Union.</figcaption></figure>
Although Rosa Lopez was present at President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address this week, what the San Diego janitor remembers most from her trip to Washington, D.C., is the snow.
“I had never had snow falling on my head,” said Lopez, after returning from her trip on Wednesday afternoon. “It was a dream come true. It was beautiful seeing everything covered in white.”
Lopez grew up very far from places where it snows. She was born in a small ranch in the state of Oaxaca, helping her parents with crops and animals to survive. In 1988, after marrying a U.S. citizen, Lopez moved to San Diego, where she works as a janitor and is active in her union, SEIU United Service Workers West.
She was Congressman Juan Vargas’s guest for the 2014 State of the Union Address.
“I am thrilled to have Rosa as my guest of honor,” Vargas said. “Rosa is a true example of a woman who has persevered and overcome many obstacles to provide a better life for her family. She embodies all the best that our immigrant communities offer to our nation and I am honored to know such a dedicated, caring and compassionate woman.”
For Lopez, travelling to D.C. and listening to President Obama was a great experience.
“It was something beautiful,” she said. “Being in the capitol was something I will never forget.”
But she said she was a bit disappointed that the president didn’t give any particulars about immigration reform.
“There was nothing in concrete about immigration reform,” she said. “I was a bit sad because of that, because a lot of our people are hopeful that it will become a reality.”
Lopez works seven days a week as a janitor in a Downtown San Diego building. She was able to raise her two children as a single mother. She was able to buy a house recently. In 2008, after becoming a U.S. citizen, she voted in her first presidential elections.
Her trip to D.C. has given her even more strength and desire to continue working with SEIU United Service Workers West in favor of immigration reform, something, she said, will benefit some of her family members.
“Having been in Washington gives me a lot of motivation to keep on fighting, and supporting our community,” Lopez said. “We all have to do our best to leave something behind on this earth, even if it is a grain of sand.”
Lopez said that she has reached the American Dream. Her children are in college. She has a job. She has opportunity to grow.
“I love the United States and all the opportunities it holds,” Lopez said. “I came here for a better life and I came here to stay. I am proud to be living my dream of owning a home and putting both of my kids through college. However, it breaks my heart to see so many immigrant families continuing to wilt in the shadows when they could be blossoming like I did.”