Husband Denied Entry Into US to Get Body of His Dead Wife
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A man in Mexico who reportedly had his visa denied is unable to travel to the United States to retrieve his wife's body after she died in a car crash in Nevada.
Gloria Vega Nava, 41, died from injuries sustained in a car crash over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, according to the Clark County Coroner's Office.
Her husband, Evaristo Vega, who lives in Tijuana, Mexico, told Las Vegas news station KLAS that his application for an emergency visa through the U.S. embassy in Tijuana was denied.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.
The Context
The crash occurred on Saturday, July 5, near Moapa, Nevada. Vega said he was informed that his wife and another occupant of the vehicle were seriously injured.
He said she had been working at a warehouse in Las Vegas.
Immigration policies under the Trump administration have become significantly stricter, with a notable increase in visa denials and travel restrictions. Many applicants, particularly those with prior immigration violations or bans, faced heightened scrutiny and fewer exceptions for humanitarian or emergency cases.
What To Know
"She was in a bad condition. She suffered a very bad accident and very bad injury on the brain," Vega told KLAS.
Nava died at a local hospital three days after the crash, according to the Clark County Coroner's Office. Officials said the cause and manner of death remain under investigation.
Vega is unable to cross the U.S. border as he said that he self-deported to Mexico in 2017 and has been waiting for a 10-year reentry ban to expire before beginning the process of applying to reenter the country. He was two years away from eligibility.
It is unclear why Vega self-deported.
"I was trying to do anything. Anything to go see her, to be with my kids, you know? I wasn't trying to do anything illegal," Vega told KLAS.
What People Are Saying
Evaristo Vega told Las Vegas news station KLAS of his wife: "She was everything to us. She was everything to us. She basically became the head of the family, you know?"
File photo of the seal of the State Department at the Washington Passport Agency in Washington, D.C.
File photo of the seal of the State Department at the Washington Passport Agency in Washington, D.C.
Alex Brandon/AP
What Happens Next
Vega's next step is to arrange for his wife's body to be released from the Clark County Coroner's Office for burial. He may appeal the visa denial with additional legal support.
Advocacy groups or elected officials could intervene on Vega's behalf, potentially expediting a temporary entry. If no exception is granted, arrangements for his wife's burial may need to proceed without his presence in the U.S.
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