Bureaucrats Almost Booted One of America's Best Teachers Out of the Country — Accidentally

The border town of Presidio, Texas is small, relatively isolated and poor — and D.C. bureaucrats almost took away one of the best things about the town.

Sheila Condino came to teach high school in Presidio from her native Philippines a few years ago, and she excelled.

In 2011, she received the National Aviation Hall of Fame's award for Aerospace Education Teacher of the Year, honoring her ability to promote rocketry excellence despite the lack of resources in Presidio.

But she couldn't get a green card, despite her seemingly obvious value to the community.

"[Immigration officials] are asking for more documents, more support and I really do not know what else they would want from me," Condino told CBS.

Image source: screengrab via CBS

In September 2013, she received a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services telling her, "You are not authorized to remain in the United States and should make arrangements to depart as soon as possible."

But thankfully for Condino and Presidio, someone in Washington took notice.

"I was appalled," said Texas congressman Pete Gallego. "That's one of those not-very-common-sensical decisions that Washington is famous for."

Gallego's office looked into the situation and found that Condino had received the "get out of America" letter as part of a clerical error.

She was supposed to get a green card all along.

Watch her finally get the document that allows her to stay in the U.S.:

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