It took 23 years for Luis Miguel Grijalva to set foot in his country of origin and during his visit the athlete received his visa, which gives him the green light to be able to schedule more international events without worrying about his immigration status.
Given the conditions in which they lived, the family of the now long-distance runner and national record holder made the decision to migrate to the United States when Luis was one year old.
Luis faced all kinds of challenges and challenges during his childhood and adolescence, but he found in sport a way to achieve his dreams and in a short time he became a benchmark in Guatemalan athletics.
Thanks to his outstanding achievements, at just 22 years old he was the last athlete to join the delegation of 24 Guatemalan athletes who participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, however, He was on the verge of not going because of his immigration situation, which was finally resolved this Thursday, March 21. when obtaining your visa.
Since 2012 Luis began to be part of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA, for its acronym in English), which protects around 600 thousand minors from being deported after having arrived in the country as children, however, despite being allowed to live in the United States, they need to obtain special permits to leave the country. territory, if he did not do so, he could be deported. “If I don’t get the permit in time, and if I go to the Olympics, then I would technically be self-deporting.“Grijalva explained to NBC in 2021 shortly before the Tokyo Games.
Finally Grijalva received his permit two days after his debut in Tokyo and achieved the best performance of a Latin American athlete in the 5,000 meters by finishing in 12th position in the world, a fact that influenced him to become a benchmark in Guatemalan sport and also an example to follow for all migrants in the same situation.
“I finished 12th (in Tokyo) and I seriously don’t know how I did it. Now I have more experience and last year I was fourth in the world. It is possible to win, but I need a lot of work and sacrifice to achieve it“Luis commented to Free Press upon arrival in the country on March 19 to carry out their immigration procedures.
This March 21, the National Athletics Federation of Guatemala finally shared that Grijalva’s visa process was approved, allowing the Guatemalan to leave and enter the United States without problems, setting a precedent for all members of the program. DACA.
“We are proud of this event that will allow you to participate with certainty in your international competitions“, expressed the Athletics Federation on its Facebook account.
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