First lady Michelle Obama speaks to students about higher education during an event at the Bell Multicultural High School, November 12, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) – A Syrian refugee is among those invited to sit in first lady Michelle Obama’s visitor box to watch the State of the Union address on Tuesday.

The Obama administration has invited Refaai Hamo of Troy, Michigan, to exemplify the refugees’ plight.

The White House says a missile tore through the complex Hamo designed and where his family lived in Syria. Seven family members died in the blast.

Hamo, his son and three daughters landed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in December, anxious to rebuild their lives in suburban Oakland County. The 54-year-old, who suffers from stomach cancer, fled to Turkey from Syria after a missile attack on his home killed his wife and one daughter.

“If they will only call me a refugee … I don’t want to be here. I want to be a good citizen,” said Hamo, who spoke with the help of a translator and was accompanied by his 18-year-old son at a nighttime news conference at the Romulus airport. The conference was arranged by Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, the state’s largest refugee resettlement agency.

Several veterans, the governor of Connecticut and Microsoft’s chief executive will be among the other guests. One seat representing victims of gun violence will be vacant.

Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates have upped their criticism of accepting more Syrian refugees under the current vetting process.

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