Valedictorian Unleashes Firestorm For Undocumented Immigrant Status

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX -- Had Crockett High School graduate Mayte Lara tweeted with youthful enthusiasm about graduating as valedictorian of her class in another time, her missive might not have gotten as much push-back. But in a time of heightened anti-immigration sentiment, she unwittingly unleashed a social media firestorm by mentioning her undocumented status among her attributes.

“Valedictorian, 4.5 GPA, full tuition paid for at UT, 13 cords and medals, nice legs, oh, and I’m undocumented,” she recently posted on Twitter ahead of her graduation, as the Daily Mail, which broke the story, reported.

Those last four words sparked a fury among other Twitter users decrying her undocumented status. The University of Texas at Austin emerged as collateral damage, forced to issue a statement outlining admission guidelines that don’t discriminate based on a young person’s citizen status in determining eligibility to apply for entry.

“State law also does not distinguish between documented and undocumented graduates of state high schools to pay in-state tuition for college and universities,” the UT statement reads.

Such guidelines apply not only in Texas but at least 17 other states, UT officials added. Texas House Bill 1403, passed in 2001, enabled students -- including undocumented ones -- to qualify as Texas residents, pay in-state tuition and receive state financial aid.

But this reality wasn’t enough to quell her detractors, some of whom were brutal in their condemnation.

“Not exactly living in the shadows, is she?” tweeted Sean DuVall. “We’re a nation lf [sic] laws. I abide by them and so should she.”

Cuervo Jones added his insight: “I did it legally, nobody should get a short cut.”

Those are the tame reactions. Others posted memes, including a cartoon image of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump holding up a representation of a Mexican man with the caption “You have to go back.”

Trump has gotten much traction over his proposal to build a wall along the southern U.S. border to keep immigrants out. He’s also called for mass deportation of all undocumented residents currently in the U.S. -- an idea that has resonated with much of his electoral base.

Paul Saldaña, a trustee at Austin ISD, said he was dismayed to hear about the backlash the young woman has received. Like UT-Austin, the school district doesn’t discriminate -- doesn’t even ask, for that matter -- related to immigration status of student or parents enrolling in schools.

“I was deeply troubled to hear about the online bullies that recently trolled the social media account of Crockett High School’s Valedictorian Mayte Lara Ibarra after she disclosed her immigration status,” Saldaña told Patch. “Sadly, there is nothing more un-American than denying compassion and decency towards a young student who has clearly demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence and education to improve the economic future for herself and family.”

The right of an education transcends political, social or ideological positions, he added.

“I firmly believe that education is a human right, and I remain extremely proud that as a district we work and support all of our AISD students and families including immigrants. limited English proficient, migrants and refugees.”

For her part, the 17-year-old Lara -- president of her class the past two years -- has now been forced to close her Twitter account as a result of the onslaught of criticism and backlash she’s received. At commencement, she avoided the issue altogether in favor of expressing optimism about the future ahead to her fellow graduates.

Video of her speech illustrates support within her school. When a school official asks for her parents in the audience to rise and be recognized -- instructions delivered in Spanish, no less -- they were met with cheers and applause from Lara's fellow students rather than jeers or boos.

“I want all this attention from strangers to stop already,” she posted in one of her last tweets.

She later told the Austin American-Statesman she never meant to come off as boasting about her accomplishment in spite of her status but was trying to inspire others to overcome challenges as well.

“I didn’t want all this to happen,” Lara told the Statesman. “My tweet wasn’t made to mock anyone. I just wanted to show that no matter what barriers you have in front of you, you can still succeed.”

On the same day of Lara's speech, another Texas high school valedictorian headed to Yale University in the fall acknowledged her undocumented status, as WFAA-TV reported. In her commencement speech, Larissa Martinez of McKinney Boyd High School identified herself as one of the 11 million immigrants in the U.S. "living in the shadows."

But in spite of her own challenges, the Mexico City native persevered, she told her classmates: “Despite not having internet, a washing machine or even my own bed, I always had knowledge at my fingertips," she said.

>>> Images via Twitter include Lara's original tweet and one from detractor Mike Rotondo; Saldaña, in a 2015 district work session, showing his support of undocumented students along with his counterparts on the school board.