A Texas student interrupted a Puerto Rican teacher’s class and rudely asked for her “papers,” implying that she was an undocumented immigrant. The story sparked outrage, especially since Puerto Ricans are US citizens.
The story was told by the teacher herself, who goes by Morenita Next Door on TikTok. She is a high school teacher in Texas, teaching mostly 9th and 10th graders, and the incident occurred during one of her classes.
The day started regularly. Everyone got their papers and instructions to get to work, and Morenita started grading. Work-related murmurs, however, were suddently interrupted by a female student, who had a “question.”
Of course, the question was not work-related at all, and the student gave the teacher a warning: it might be “offensive.” Morenita told her that maybe she should refrain from asking it. Still, the student asked, “Do you have your papers?“
The Texas teacher couldn’t believe what she had heard, and as she tried to process the ill-spirited question, she said, “What?” Again, the student asked the question, “Do you have your papers? Like, do you have your citizenship?“
A Straightforward Answer
Morenita, acting professionally, gathered her thoughts and responded nicely. She agreed with the student that the question was offensive, telling her that it was none of her business and that her work is “not affected by her citizenship status.”
Swallowing her pride and trying to make a learning opportunity out of a very tense moment, the Texas teacher continued. She explained that she does have citizenship because she is from Puerto Rico. Therefore, from the moment of her birth, she has been a citizen of the United States.
Morenita called the student insensitive, adding that she “doesn’t know history,” an example of how “terrible” the education system is in the country. She then said that her country, refusing to call Puerto Rico a territory, has been owned by the United States for over a hundred years.
The student, having heard her teacher, only said, “Oh, okay. I was just wondering.”
More than 90,000 users liked the video, with hundreds commenting, bashing the insensitive and racially-charged question posed by the student.
“Remember, kids are taught racism. It’s not natural without it being taught,” one user said. Another commented, “Sounds like a microaggression to me.” A third added, “The fact that it’s coming from the next generation is scary.“
