A Central Texas high school valedictorian with a 4.5 GPA and full-ride scholarship to the University of Texas has sparked outrage from some and praise from others after bragging of her undocumented immigration status on social media.

According to the San Antonio Express News, Mayte Lara recently graduated from Crockett High School in Austin with 13 cords and medals combined. But it's not her accomplishments that are getting attention.

A tweet from Lara reading "Valedictorian, 4.5 GPA, full tuition paid for at UT, 13 cords/medals, nice legs, oh and I'm undocumented" was retweeted 30,000 times before the student shut down her Twitter account, saying she wanted "all this attention from strangers to stop already".

She also deleted her Facebook account after angry users reached out to her employer, CVS Pharmacy, asking if they were aware they had "an illegal working for [them] and bragging on Twitter about being undocumented". Others called for Lara's deportation or argued that she is not entitled to things some natural-born citizens may not receive.


Not everyone was upset, though. Some are praising Lara's accomplishments and accusing critics of being bigots.

Whatever the opinions of those angered or inspired by Lara, one thing is clear - she is protected by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status under the DREAM Act, which allows for certain undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition if they meet certain requirements and exempts many who entered the country before the age of 16 from deportation.

The DREAM Act has come under scrutiny recently, and it was a major issue during Texas' last gubernatorial race.

What do you think about Lara's bragging about her undocumented status?

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