Valedictorian Admits She is ‘Undocumented’ Then SLAMS Trump in Her Speech (VIDEO)

by Cassy Fiano | June 9, 2016 7:02 pm

Illegal immigration is one of the most controversial issues in the country, with strong opinions on either side of the issue. And with a speech from a valedictorian who admitted that she’s an illegal immigrant, it’s been brought to the forefront again.

larissa martinez[1]

From Young Conservatives:

McKinney Boyd High School valedictorian Larissa Martinez also mentioned she was Yale University bound when she stood before a packed auditorium and declared: “I am one of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows of the United States.”

Eleven million is the often quoted and questioned U.S. government statistic of illegal immigrants living in the United States. Martinez stated that sharing this information about her status was part of one of her life struggles. “After all of these years, I have finally mustered up the courage to stand before you and share a struggle I’ve had to deal with each and every day.”

Martinez later told Dallas’ WFAA 8 in an interview that her Ivy League college education is funded on a full-ride scholarship. She hopes to go to med school.

During her speech, Martinez also said she decided to make her immigration status, which she again referred to as “undocumented,” a focal point of her valedictorian speech because of the “great divide of opinion on the topic of immigration in America.”She asserted: “We are here without official documentation because the U.S. immigration system is broken and it has forced many families to live in fear.”Following her declaration, she said: “Undocumented immigrants are people too.”Martinez became a little emotional. Attendees and graduates of the McKinney Independent School District erupted into hoots, hollers and thunderous applause.

Although she never mentioned billionaire real estate mogul and presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald J. Trump by name, Martinez stated: “The most important part of the debate and is often overlooked is that immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, are people too. People with dreams, aspirations, hopes and loved ones. People like me. People who have become a 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.”

Martinez admitted to WFAA 8 that she purposefully alluded to Trump in her speech. “I didn’t know if people would pick up on that, but I knew, and that made me feel better so,” she stated.

In the course of her nearly nine minute speech, Martinez addressed a few of her other life struggles. “On July 11 it will be exactly six years since I moved to McKinney from Mexico City where I was born and raised.” WFAA 8 reported that Martinez, her sister, and mother jetted into Texas from Mexico in 2010 and live in a one-bedroom apartment in McKinney, a desirable middle class suburb north of Dallas.

Although, to date, she is not legal. “I myself have been living 7 years for my application to be processed.” She hoped everyone left the graduation ceremony knowing that “we are trying to do it the right way but we don’t know how.”

Martinez actually makes several good points — that we need to remember that these are people, actual human beings we’re talking about and that the immigration system in the United States is a mess. If people actually wanted to end illegal immigration, then a good place to start isn’t a wall; it’s fixing the bureaucratic nightmare so that people can legally immigrate here more easily.

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: https://rightwingnews1.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/larissa-martinez.png

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/illegal-immigration-2/valedictorian-admits-undocumented-slams-trump-speech-video/