In 1909 President Taft was planting 2,000 cherry trees from Tokyo, Emiliano Zapata’s agrarian revolt began starting the Mexican Revolution, the NAACP was founded, concrete was just being poured for the Panama Canal, and Eulalia Garcia-Maturey was born.
Tuesday, at 101 years of age, Eulalia Garcia-Maturey, a Mexico-born immigrant who was brought to the U.S. as an infant, took the oath of allegiance in Brownsville, Texas becoming one of only 15 immigrants over the age of 100 to become a naturalized citizen.
Having outlived two husbands and her two sons, Garcia-Maturey said she decided to become a U.S. citizen when the U.S. government required everyone to show a passport if they wished to return to the U.S. from Mexico. Eulalia was a permanent resident and was issued a lawful entry card 69 years ago, which she was no longer able to use when returning from a visit to her beloved native country.
Just before her ceremony, Garcia-Maturey exclaimed, “Right now I feel grand. I’m so happy.” After wards, with proof of her citizenship in hand she smiled and said she finally feels at peace.
