The guests President Donald Trump invited to hear his Tuesday night address to a joint session of Congress will represent four issues: border security, school choice, small businesses, and Justice Antonin Scalia’s Supreme Court legacy.
Per a White House press release, Trump invited family members of three people who were murdered by illegal immigrants, a beneficiary of school choice, a woman whose life was saved by a small pharmaceutical company, and the widow of the late Scalia.
Trump invited Jessica Davis, the widow of Detective Michael Davis, and Susan Oliver, the widow of Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver. A twice-deported illegal immigrant killed both men in 2014 while they were in the line of duty.
The Davis-Oliver bill was drafted in honor of the two slain officers and is intended to increase cooperation between local, state, and federal governments to enforce immigration laws, Fox News reported. The bill was sponsored by then Sen. Jeff Sessions and introduced in 2015, but ultimately died in the 114th Congress.
Guest Jamiel Shaw Sr. has a similar tragic story. The California man’s son, Jamiel Shaw Jr., was murdered by an illegal immigrant gang member.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Jamiel Jr. was a high school football player who received attention for his athletic abilities from both Stanford University and Rutgers University before he was killed walking to his Los Angeles home in 2008.
Democrat legislators have invited illegal immigrants to the address as their guests, Politico reported.
Megan Crowley, another one of Trump’s special guests, was diagnosed with Pompe disease when she was a one-year-old—a condition that, according to Fox News, did not have a treatment or cure at that time.
However, Crowley’s father, John Crowley, created Novazyme Pharmaceuticals to develop a solution for Megan’s condition. While John had no prior experience running a pharmaceutical company, his business ultimately developed a life-saving drug for those who suffer from Pompe disease, a rare genetic disorder.
Novazyme Pharmaceuticals now employs 100 people and Megan is currently a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Notre Dame.
One of Trump’s other guests describes herself as “living proof” that school choice works.
Denisha Merriweather had a difficult time in the public school system, as she wrote in 2015. She said she was held back in elementary school. However, upon entering the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, Merriweather says she was able to succeed in a private school and even made the honor roll.
Merriweather said she was also the first person in her immediate family to attend and graduate college.
The widow of Scalia, Maureen McCarthy Scalia, will attend the president’s address to Congress. Trump has nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill Scalia’s vacant seat.
