Luis Grijalva, a DACA recipient, needed a special permit to compete for Guatemala in Tokyo Olympics
TOKYO – Luis Grijalva dripped with sweat, not an inch of him dry after an Olympic final in the soupy Tokyo heat.
For 5,000 meters, he had pushed himself past his own best time set less than two months ago to make these Games, past the national record for the country of his birth.
In 12.5 laps around Olympic Stadium, Grijalva chased the dream that he needed U.S. immigration officials to sign off on. He finished 12th, a 22-year-old Arizonan raised in California making history for Guatemala.
Grijalva is a Dreamer, coming to the United States with his parents when he was 1 year old. Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a policy under which the U.S. government grants immigrants brought to the country as children relief from deportation and authorization to work.
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For Grijalva to be able to leave the country he was raised in, compete here and return took a rushed process, the work of an immigration lawyer and the assistance of at least two members of Congress.
“It’s pretty special. I feel it is a privilege and honor to represent Guatemala,” Grijalva said. “I get to be a voice for over 600,000 Dreamers and other immigrants as well.”
Grijalva’s journey to these Olympics began in early June, with the Northern Arizona University senior running an Olympic qualifying time in his final collegiate race.
While he could compete for Guatemala since he was born there, he faced a months-long process to receive approval to travel outside of the country. He hired attorney Jessica Smith Bobadilla in early July.
Though she requested an expedited process, approval often takes three to five months and she saw no sign from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that Grijalva’s request would be approved in time for him to compete in the Olympics.
So she requested assistance from Rep. Tom O’Halleran and Sen. Mark Kelly, whose staffs worked to help get Grijalva’s emergency application before USCIS officials.
On July 26, three days into the Games, USCIS granted Grijalva permission to travel and return to the country. By the end of the week, after he’d completed the coronavirus testing to travel for a trip he wasn’t sure he’d get to take, Grijalva arrived in Tokyo.
Two days later, he ran a qualifying time fast enough to secure the last spot in the final, making him the first Guatemalan and first Central American athlete to qualify to the 5,000-meter final.
Grijalva wasn’t in contention for the podium on Friday. That he dropped off the lead pack in the final on Friday hardly seemed to matter. Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei won gold, finishing nearly 12 seconds ahead of Grijalva.
“The process was pretty hard. I didn't know if I would be able to come here or not,” he said. “It's kind of cool because I'm doing it in kind-of-last-minute style, not knowing whether I'm going to go, go last minute, qualify for the last spot in the final and then get 12th in the world.”
Grijalva had raced with the best in with the world on the way to posting the best time for the country his parents left more than two decades ago. If he wants to leave the country he was raised in for other competitions – including the Paris Games he looked ahead to after his race here – Grijalva might need to go through the process again.
Smith Bobadilla hopes Grijalva’s Olympic experience might make that easier in the future, but, even if it doesn’t, she’s ready to help him keep competing on his sport’s biggest stage.
“It seems a little insane to do this over and over for kids that are this talented,” she said. “I’m completely inspired and I just am in awe of him and his resilience.
“It was so significant for so many people, both in Guatemala and the region and the Dreamers.”