( CNN ) -- Sitting in the first lady 's box listening to the President Barack Obama push for movement on immigration reform , Cristian Avila no longer had to keep his head down and live in fear of being deported . While the President dedicated only a brief part of his State of the Union address to immigration , his message went beyond his speech , and the evidence was sitting among the guests invited to join the first lady in the viewing box . `` I feel honored and excited to be here . If it was n't for receiving my DACA last summer I would n't have been able to attend the State of the Union , '' Avila told CNN . The 23-year-old and his siblings are just one of the many thousands of recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) . Avila was illegally brought into the United States with his younger brother and sister when he was 9 years old . DACA is a government program enacted in 2012 that stopped deporting some undocumented young people and instead granted them temporary work authorization and a two-year reprieve from deportation . Obama hits the road to push State of the Union message . The recipients have become one of the most visible groups advocating for immigration reform . Avila caught the attention of the Obama administration during his 22-day fast on the National Mall in support of immigration reform last November . And , for the last two years , Avila 's been working as a voter engagement coordinator for Mi Familia Vota , a non-profit Latino civic engagement program . `` At the time , immigration reform seemed like it was dead . We won the hearts of the American people . We revived the conversation , '' Avila said . Obama pleaded for cooperation and pointed out how getting immigration reform done this year was important for the country 's recovering economy . `` If we are serious about economic growth , it is time to heed the call of business leaders , labor leaders , faith leaders , and law enforcement -- and fix our broken immigration system , '' Obama said . Without attacking House Republicans , the President described how both parties in the Senate passed a comprehensive bill last summer and said both parties in the House want to do the same . He said immigration reform would not only help the economy but shrink the deficit by almost $ 1 trillion in the next two decades . `` When people come here to fulfill their dreams -- to study , invent , contribute to our culture -- they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everybody . So let 's get immigration reform done this year , '' he said . Obama spoke of immigration reform in broad strokes but that might have something to do with the plans of House Republican leaders to outline their principles for immigration reform at a party meeting this week . Opinion : Can Obama deliver action on inequality ? `` We 're going to outline our standards , principles of immigration reform and have a conversation with members , '' House Speaker John Boehner said during a news conference after a party meeting . Obama steered clear of specific immigration reform policies . There was no mention of stopping the deportations of undocumented immigrants without criminal records , despite countless pleas from activists all over the country . Avila and his siblings no longer live in fear of being deported but his parents face that threat every time they leave their homes for work . `` I grew up with the fear of being deported . My mom would always tell me to put my head down , '' Avila said . `` I still have the constant fear of my parents being deported . They are fearful and targeted even though they earn their living in an honest way , '' said Avila , `` One of the reasons that I keep strong is for them . '' Still , Avila remains optimistic that immigration reform will happen in 2014 . `` We are closer than ever before . It should n't take any longer , '' Avila said .
Sitting in the first lady 's box was Congressman John Avila . ` ` If it was n't for receiving my DACA last summer I would n't be here , '' activist said . Avila caught the attention of the administration during his 22-day immigration fast . He 's optimistic about immigration reform despite both his parents being deported .