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My mother-in-law was born on a small ranch in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 1951. After her mother died from illness, my mother-in-law crossed into Brownsville, Texas, during the Charro Days Fiesta.

She was 13, undocumented and alone.

I've written about my mother-in-law's journey before. However, in light of Donald Trump's immigration policies and his attempt to end constitutionally protected birthright citizenship, it is important to share her story once again.

The Charro Days Fiesta is celebrated annually in Brownsville, Texas. This year it ran from Feb. 27 to March 1, but it was first conceived in 1937 by local business leaders as an antidote to the Great Depression. The event commemorates Mexican heritage found on both sides of the Rio Grande and is named in honor of the "Charro," a handsome Mexican cowboy.

Anyone who has ever visited a border town knows that a hard cultural divide does not exist. Cultures blend regardless of lines drawn or walls built.

As part of the Charro Days Fiesta, in the 1960s, international bridges were opened to allow people to cross the border without papers during what was called the "Paso Libre," meaning "free pass." My mother-in-law crossed into Texas on the Paso Libre as a young teenager and did not go back. She was a "Dreamer" before it had a name. She stayed in Texas with her aunt where she met my father-in-law, who was a second-generation Texan.

It wasn't until 2017, on what was her third attempt, that she aced her citizenship test. My husband watched with pride. My mother-in-law had first attempted citizenship in the 1980s. She paid for her test only to learn she would have to take it in English, even though she is a Spanish speaker. In the Texas border town where she lives and works, everyone speaks Spanish. She tried again in the '90s, but she had been conned into paying for a nonexistent test. In 2017, she was finally permitted to take the test in Spanish.

When asked what drove her to see it through, she said that she wanted to be an American citizen like her children and her husband. She wanted to show them she could do it and make her family proud. She also wanted the right to vote. On July 14, 2017, she was sworn in as an American citizen.

We are all so very proud of her. We are also very glad that she is now an American citizen.

This administration is hellbent on deporting as many people as it can. It makes no sense especially considering that United States first lady Melania Trump is an immigrant, and second lady Usha Vance is first-generation American as the daughter of Indian immigrants. The women in the White House could be shining examples of the American melting pot we all learn about in elementary school. Immigration is the most universal story we share as Americans. It should be the common ground that unites us.

Trump and Vance have an opportunity to represent what is truly possible in this country but instead they choose to be a hypocritical example of how to wield power steeped in privilege to deepen the divide.

I'm grateful to my mother-in-law for her strength and resilience. For her bravery and her resolve. Because of her, I have my beautiful family. She represents so many immigrant mothers who came before her as well as the ones who live in America now. For Women's History Month, they all deserve our respect and gratitude.

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Do you know anyone who's doing cool things to make the world a better place? I want to know. Send me an email at Bonnie@WriterBonnie.com. Check out Bonnie's weekly YouTube videos at https://www.youtube.com/bonniejeanfeldkamp. To find out more about Bonnie Jean Feldkamp and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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