Fairfield’s Grijalva puts Olympic face on DACA
TOKYO — The 5,000 meters is a long race, so the track announcer had some time to fill with various facts about the participants.
“There are three Americans in this race,” he said.
Well, to a lot of us watching, there were actually four.
Fairfield’s Luis Grijalva — running with Guatemala, the name of the country where he was born, across his chest — ran a personal best of 13 minutes, 10.09 seconds. Finishing 12th in muggy heat that felt like 93 degrees at 9 p.m. capped a whirlwind week.
And it also put a face to a national issue.
“The past couple of weeks has been an honor,” Grijalva said. “But it’s also a privilege. Because I get to be a voice for over 600,000 dreamers.
“It’s awesome to be able to share my story.”
Grijalva, who ran cross country and track at Armijo High in Fairfield and at Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, has been able to use the Olympics to inspire DACA recipients and inform others.
“He takes great pride in his heritage,” said his high school coach Dave Monk, who was having a 5 a.m. watch party in Fairfield. “He understands he has responsibility to help create further opportunities.
“We’ve been pretty blown away by the amount of publicity and support this has brought about.”
Grijalva’s story is a familiar one. He was born in Guatemala but was brought to the United States by his parents when he was just a year old. For 21 of his 22 years, he has been raised as an American kid.
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was created in 2012 by President Barack Obama for children like Grijalva. The policy shields children who have never known a country other than the United States from deportation. Finding a path to citizenship for the roughly 650,000 dreamers as they are known, has generally received bipartisan support. But DACA still faces legal challenges and the young people — almost all now adults — remain in limbo.
That’s where Grijalva found himself. He could not compete on behalf of the United States because
he is not a citizen. He qualified for the Guatemalan team when his time and a secondplace finish at the NCAA championships made a trip to the Olympics possible. But leaving the country, to travel to Tokyo, was an issue. He needed special approval to be readmitted to the United States, and such permits usually take 90 days to process.
He hired immigration attorney Jessica Smith Bobadilla. Sen. Mark Kelly (DAriz.) was among those offering support. On July 26, four days after Opening Ceremonies, she was able to get the permit. Grijalva packed his bags, headed to Tokyo, arrived a couple of days before his heat, and qualified for the final spot in Friday’s final, becoming the first Guatemalan to ever qualify for an Olympic track final.
Smith Bobadilla, who represents other stellar young people who would like to have the opportunity to pursue fellowships and jobs abroad, was watching back in the States.
“I think the Olympic platform helps many people who might not know a DACA student or Dreamer connect and inform themselves about an issue that is so pressing to these students but not very well understood by the general U.S. population,” she wrote in an email. “I hope this prompts people to press their Senators … and that Congress is compelled to move forward.
“I think lawmakers are watching.”
A lot of people were watching with pride.
“What separated him was his incredible will to do the work and preparation,” Monk said. “You don’t get a lot of high school kids who have the will to do the work. He would do whatever it takes. It was pretty spectacular that he had such a passion.”
“It’s been so emotional to see it all come together.”
Dripping with sweat and beaming, Grijalva moved from speaking to U.S. reporters to switching to Spanish for reporters from Central America.
In the middle of an answer in Spanish he said, “really proud.”
In any language.