(CNN) Sarai Ruiz received her high school diploma at a graduation ceremony in Texas last week. But one of the most important people in her life, her dad Esteban, could not attend.

"He was deported from the US when I was about four," Ruiz told CNN En Español. The whole family now lives in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Ruiz had to cross the border daily to attend Hector J. Garcia Early College High School in Laredo, Texas, she said.

"My whole life, I had always thought that my whole family was going to be there. Unfortunately, my dad couldn't be there because he can't cross (the border)," she told CNN affiliate KGNS

So after the graduation ceremony, 18-year-old Ruiz -- still wearing her cap and gown -- walked up Puente de Las Americas (Gateway to the Americas Bridge) on the US and Mexico border to greet her father and celebrate with him.

Ruiz posted a video of the meeting on Facebook, where it went viral, gathering more than 3 million views. It shows father and daughter exchanging a long embrace amid their tears.

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