The Big Conversation

The debate over illegal immigration and what to do with undocumented immigrants, many of whom arrived in the country while still very young, has carried over to this year’s graduation season.

Two high school valedictorians, one in Austin and the other in McKinney, have drawn national attention after identifying themselves as undocumented.

The Austin high school valedictorian, Mayte Lara, went public with her immigration status via a tweet.

She told the Austin American-Statesman that “I didn’t want all this to happen,” referring to the often times angry responses online to her admission. “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.”

Meanwhile, Larissa Martinez of McKinney talked about her immigration status in her valedictorian address to her graduating class.

She told WFAA-TV that she welcomed the attention “because before they had no reason to listen to me.”

She added that she’d like to meet with Donald Trump, who will be in North Texas next week.

“Yes, I would love to talk to him,” she told WFAA-TV. “I think he even needs to know we are people, too.”