Texas valedictorians reveal their undocumented status to graduating class

Their stories sparked both outrage and support

McKinney ISD

Graduates at a Texas high school stood in support of their valedictorian who, in her speech to the exiting seniors, revealed her status as an undocumented immigrant.

Larissa Martinez completed her tenure at McKinney Boyd High School having taken 17 advanced placement courses and boasting a 4.5 GPA - all the while living behind the shroud of her undocumented status.

“I am one of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows of the United States,” Ms Martinez - who told a local ABC affiliate that she has a full-ride scholarship to Yale - admitted to the graduating class.

She explained the “unexpected realities” of migrating to the US in 2010, escaping an abusive, alcoholic father, and finding a safe haven in her school library. She took the opportunity to put a human face to undocumented immigrants in the US in the midst of heated political rhetoric used by the likes of GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump.

“Immigrants - undocumented or otherwise - are people, too,” she said. “People like me … who have become part of the American society and way of life, and who yearn to help make America great again without the construction of a wall built on hatred and prejudice.”

That same day, Austin-area graduate made a similar admission on Twitter, exposing her undocumented status alongside a 4.5 GPA and full ride to the University of Texas, and immediately sparked a backlash.


 Mayte Lara Ibarra/Twitter

“Valedictorian, 4.5 GPA, full tuition paid for at UT, 13 cords/medals, nice legs, oh and I’m undocumented,” Mayte Lara Ibarra wrote in a 3 June tweet, after delivering her valedictorian speech.

While her speech did not address her immigration status, the tweet garnered significant criticism.

“I have NEVER thought about deporting a child who graduated from a US high school and fought against the odds to be successful. Until this moment,” wrote Hillary Shay Davis, whose daughter graduated from David Crocket High School with Ms Ibarra.

“It is very obvious that she is taking advantage of the system and is proud of it.”

She added: “Something else that I have NEVER thought I would support until this moment is Trump and ‪#‎buildthatwall‬.”

Ms Ibarra has since deleted her Twitter account amid a barrage of harassment.

Despite the outcry against Ms Ibarra, the University of Texas has no plans to revoke her scholarship.

“State law also does not distinguish between documented and undocumented graduates of Texas high schools in admissions and financial aid decisions,” university spokesperson Gary Susswein told the New York Times. “University policies reflect that law.”

Legislation passed by Texas in 2001 allows for undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at state universities if they graduate high school or earn a GED, so long as they have lived in the state for at least three years.

Texas has the second largest undocumented population in the country with roughly 1.5m, according to the Migration Policy Institute. That is approximately half of California’s undocumented population.

But according to the MPI’s data, some 80 per cent of the undocumented population in Texas have lived in the state for more than five years. Fifty-eight per cent have live in the US for more than 10 years.