Student who graduated top of her class causes outrage after bragging that she has a 4.5GPA, nice legs, full tuition at UT – but is in the US ILLEGALLY
- Mayte Lara tweeted after graduating from Crockett High School in Austin
- But the Texas teenager also mentioned that she was 'undocumented'
- Federal law does not prohibit states from providing in-state tuition to undocumented students
By
CHRIS SUMMERS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:54 EST, 8 June 2016 | UPDATED: 16:48 EST, 8 June 2016
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High school graduation season is in full swing and Twitter and Facebook are jam-packed with pictures of jubilant teenagers but one girl's tweet has landed her in a whole lot of trouble.
Mayte Lara, from Crockett High School in Austin, Texas, tweeted: 'Valedictorian, 4.5GPA, full tuition paid for at UT, 13 cords and medals, nice legs, oh and I'm undocumented.'
Oh Mayte. If only you had left off those four words off you would have saved yourself a lot of bother.
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It seemed like a good idea at the time - this tweet from Mayte Lara went viral
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Ms Lara's tweet soon went viral, with more and more people getting more and more angry about an illegal immigrant from Mexico getting a free scholarship to the University of Texas.
Cuervo Jones tweeted: 'I did it legally, nobody should get a short cut.'
Sean DuVall wrote: 'Not exactly "living in the shadows" is she? We're a nation of laws. I abide by them and so should she.'
Dave S seemed to suggest that her appearance may have been partly responsible for her good fortune: 'put a white male in exact same situation: he has to take out $100k in student loans. It wasn't the GPA, honey.'
Ms Lara soon began to realise she had made a major error.
'I want all this attention from strangers to stop already,' she tweeted at one point.
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Mayte Lara received a lot of offensive abuse on Twitter before her profile was deleted
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UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS AND THE LAW: WHAT NOW FOR MAYTE?
Federal law does not prohibit states from providing in-state tuition to undocumented students. Currently, at least 17 states, including Texas, have passed legislation allowing undocumented graduates of state high schools to pay in-state tuition for colleges and universities.
To qualify in Texas, a student must: Graduate from a public or private high school, or receive a GED, in Texas; Reside in Texas for at least the 3 years leading up to high school graduation or receiving a GED; Reside in Texas for the 12 consecutive months right before the semester the student is enrolling in college; and Provide the institution an affidavit stating that they will file an application to become a U.S. permanent resident as soon as they are eligible to do so.
A friend, Manuel Varela, tweeted her: 'I checked your tweet this morning and it BLEW up. LOL'
She replied: 'I know! I didn't think it would do that tbh and it's kinda scary and want to stop.'
Her Twitter account has since been deleted.
But she has had some support on Facebook.
Tee 'Baby' Hutton, who also goes to Crockett High, wrote: 'This is the the dumbest thing ever!!!
'Are you kidding me you all are worried about this young lady who work her butt off to get where she is today instead of the other insane stuff going on not only in the world but in America itself!
'Please leave her alone! You all just want to see people down! How about we start up lifting people instead of tearing them down! That's how you make America great again!'
Miss Hutton added: 'We love you girl do you and forget about these people. And when Harvard calls you up...you need to catch the first flight out! We Crocket Cougars got you're back you don't have to worry about that!!'
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But she did have some support from a fellow Crockett High School student
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Legally, Mayte is legally entitled to continue her studies at the university despite being undocumented. The Texas House Bill 1403 passed in 2001 enabled students, including those who were undocumented, to qualify as Texas residents and pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities in the state
The fact that Lara has publicly admitted to being undocumented will not, however, compromise her offer of full tuition at University of Texas.
A spokesman for the university said: 'In accordance with state law, Texas universities - including the University of Texas schools - have for decades granted two-semester tuition waivers to valedictorians of Texas public high schools, without regard to their residency status.
'State law also does not distinguish between documented and undocumented graduates of Texas high schools in admissions and financial aid decisions. University policies reflect that law'.
Currently, at least 17 states have passed legislation allowing undocumented graduates of state high schools to pay in-state tuition for colleges and universities. These states are: Texas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
The Texas House Bill 1403 passed in 2001 enabled students, including those who were undocumented, to qualify as Texas residents and pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities in the state.
Texas residents also are eligible to receive state financial aid. In-state tuition is much lower than non-resident tuition and has allowed thousands of immigrants in Texas access to education.
To qualify, a student must: Graduate from a public or private high school, or receive a GED, in Texas; Reside in Texas for at least the 3 years leading up to high school graduation or receiving a GED; Reside in Texas for the 12 consecutive months right before the semester the student is enrolling in college; and Provide the institution an affidavit stating that they will file an application to become a U.S. permanent resident as soon as they are eligible to do so.
Ironically the school Mayte Lara goes to is named after Davy Crockett, who lost his life fighting at The Alamo against the Mexican Army, which was trying to prevent Texas breaking away and eventually joining the U.S.
DailyMail.com reached out to the University of Texas for a response and awaits a reply.
Top graduate causes outrage after bragging she's in US ILLEGALLY
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