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Donald Trump invites Root family to inauguration

Posted at 10:56 PM, Jan 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-18 23:56:51-05

Among the hundreds of thousands of people who will be at Donald Trump’s inauguration Friday will be Scott and Michelle Root, who lost their daughter Sarah in a car accident last January.

Sarah’s death has been a central focus on immigration issues both locally and nationally. Sarah’s parents have become strong advocates for Sarah’s Law, which would require immigration officials to detain undocumented immigrants suspected of killing or maiming someone.

During his campaign, Donald Trump used Sarah’s case as a plea for stronger immigration laws and invited Sarah’s mom to speak at his campaign stops.

Michelle Root says when Trump won the election, his campaign reached out to her to invite her and the family to the inauguration.

“We were obviously hoping he would win the election. Last time we saw him we said we’d love to be there for the inauguration if he won and he kept his promise and invited us to be there,” says Michelle.

“I’m excited; you know I’m really glad Mr. Trump was voted in. He’s done a lot for our family,” says Scott.

The Roots say they’re thankful to Trump for all his done to get Sarah’s story out there.

"From the beginning, Trump was one of the first ones to support us with Sarah’s Law of course, so to see him sworn in and to see the compassion and the time he took to get to know our daughter and to speak of our daughter and honor our daughter, is going to be an honor for us and to Sarah to be out there and watch him sworn in,” says Michelle.

The family will get there Thursday afternoon and have tickets to the inauguration, the parade and a ball, courtesy of Trump.