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 News from Around the Americas | April 2007 
Mayan Leaders Denied Visas; UA Visit Canceled
 Arizona Daily Star
A University of Arizona-sponsored talk by two indigenous leaders from Mexico has been canceled after the pair was denied visas to visit the United States, officials announced Friday.
Mayan leaders Pedro Bernal Raymundo and Baltazar Solano Canay were invited by the UA's Center for Latin American Studies and Department of Women's Studies for a talk Thursday at Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church, according to a statement from Laura Briggs, acting head of women's studies.
Briggs wrote that U.S. consular officials denied the visa requests because the indigenous leaders earn less than $130 per month and are presumed to be lying about the nature of their visit, instead intending to immigrate.
Consular officials won't discuss individual cases due to privacy rights, but typically will deny visas unless convinced the applicant will return to Mexico, said John Ibarra, visa chief with the U.S. Consulate in Nogales, Sonora. All applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and take into account a variety of factors, he said.
"It's really establishing the purpose for the travel, their ties to the U.S. and what they have going on in Mexico," he said.
The UA departments will continue to work with Raymundo and Canay to secure a visit in the fall, Briggs wrote. The talk was to be about their participation in a 13-year transnational health project with organizations in the Tucson and Denver areas. |
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