AUSTIN – By Maria Valero - Staff
A Texas high school valedictorian is making headlines, not for her grades, but for what she shared on Twitter.
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Crockett High School student Mayte Lara Ibarra revealed via Twitter that she is an undocumented immigrant.
"Valedictorian, 4.5 GPA, full tuition paid for at UT, 13 cords/medals, nice legs, oh and I'm undocumented," Ibarra wrote.
Her tweet went viral with nearly 20,000 likes and over 9,400 retweets, and the response was initially aggressive. Ibarra had to delete her Twitter account after receiving threats and angry tweets.
"Mayte Lara, you have to go back," tweeted user ALLCURVEDBRO.
Another user who goes by the name of Nick wrote: "Mayte Lara should be deported immediately for her flaunting her law breaking. We are a nation of laws. Immigrate legally. #BuildThatWall."
A user who goes by the name Cool Arrow tweeted a screenshot of the apparent tip he had made on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement website.
"@maytelara29 I did it legally, nobody should get a short cut," wrote the user.
The backlash was soon met with messages of support.
"We are a nation built from immigrants. I'm proud of you. Keep being a role model for your fellow Hispanics. I'm with you #MayteLara," user Desmond Tudor tweeted.
"As a Trump supporter I can say #maytelara Is the type of immigrant you want in the USA. She has a 4.5 GPA.... educated and hardworking," another user tweeted.
During her graduation ceremony, Ibarra introduced the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. However, she made no reference to her legal status during her speech.
Crockett High School had no comment.
The University of Texas at Austin told KXAN that Texas universities have traditionally granted two semesters' worth of tuition waivers for Texas valedictorians regardless of their legal 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," UT told KXAN.