Texas elementary school worker gets heartwarming parade after getting citizenship

School worker arrived in the US from Mexico 18 years ago

Maria Ponce, a cafeteria worker at Oliver Elementary School in Texas, walks through the halls of the school as students and teachers congratulate her on obtaining her US citizenship (screengrab)

Teachers and students lined the halls of an elementary school in Texas to surprise and celebrate a cafeteria worker who became a US citizen earlier this month by throwing her an in-school parade.

Maria Ponce, the cafeteria worker, arrived in the US from Mexico 18 years ago and spent the last five years working at Oliver Elementary School in Texas.

She had tried to become a citizen for six years, and finally succeeded on 3 May.

Video from the day of the event captured the parade. Students and teachers lined up in the school's hallways holding American flags. They waved and shouted congratulations to Ms Ponce as she walked through the school carrying a large American flag cut-out.

Ms Ponce told Fox News that the event was a “big surprise” and said it was a “special day”.

The school's principal, Kyle Chambers, told Fox News that the day was not only an opportunity to celebrate Ms Ponce's achievement, but also a valuable learning opportunity for the school's students.

“I talked to the kids about the process someone would go through to become a citizen, how hard that was and the hard work that it took to get there, kind of how hard work makes our dreams come true,” Mr Chambers said.

Ms Ponce's ties to the school go beyond her work in the cafeteria; her middle-school-aged son also attended Oliver Elementary and was able to participate in his mother's parade.

“I work in the elementary school with the little ones. They make me happy every day,” Ms Ponce said. “I love my job.”

The US pathway to citizenship is a notoriously difficult process and has been for years. That process became more difficult under former President Donald Trump, whose administration enacted extreme restrictions on immigration into the country, including suspending visas, enacting travel bans, and the widely criticised child separation policy that split migrant families up at the border.

The Department of Homeland Security recently indicated it planned to relax some of the restrictions put on immigration in recent years, including asylum restrictions that prevented individuals fleeing danger in other countries from seeking refuge in the US.

The Biden administration said it would allow 250 people each day across the border if they are seeking asylum status.