Thread: Woman becomes American citizen after 101 years in US‎

12 October 2010 Last updated at 22:29 ET

Woman becomes American citizen after 101 years in US‎

By Marcia Facundo
BBC Mundo Hispanic affairs correspondent

Ms Maturey became a US citizen precisely 101 years after she arrived More than a century after she crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into the US, Eulalia Garcia Maturey has become an American citizen at the age of 101.

"I feel really good about what I have accomplished - at my age and with my health," she said.

Ms Maturey, who entered the US on 12 October 1909, became a citizen on the 101st anniversary of her arrival.

She said the first thing she wanted to do as an American was vote in the mid-term elections on 2 November.

"Sure, I do - for the best [candidate]," Ms Maturey said.

The naturalisation ceremony took place on Tuesday in a federal courthouse in Brownsville in the US state of Texas, where Ms Maturey has lived almost all her life.

She now joins an elite list of only 15 immigrants over 100 years of age who have been naturalised as citizens, according to the US Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Born in the Mexican city of Monterrey, she has outlived two husbands, her two sons and an endless set of rules and US immigration laws.

She came to Texas in the arms of her mother, Ilaria Mendoza, when she was only six months old.

At that time, it was normal for both Mexicans and Americans to travel across the border in either direction without being forced to show documentation.

Ms Maturey's single mother made a living washing clothes - and together they lived a quiet life in Brownsville.

In 1940, the US Congress passed the Alien Registration Act, or Smith Act, which required all non-citizens already in the country to register with the government.

Just the fact that at the age of 101, this lady has wanted to become a citizen is an honour for usâ€

Ah! Isn't that special......
One foot in the grave and one on a banana peel and she's just now waking up?? Probably been milking the system all that time.

Oh for Gods sake. Another uplifting hispanic story. Well at least she wont be using her citizenship to bring her relatives over. They're all dead.