A Mexican-born Catholic priest who has served in the Diocese of Laredo, Texas, for nine years must leave the United States because his application for residency was denied and his religious worker visa is expiring. Father Alan Sanchez, the pastor of St. Joseph Church in La Pryor and St. Patrick Mission in Batesville, will return to his native country of Mexico on Aug. 27, amid the visa issues. He will be received into the Archdiocese of Monterrey in northeastern Mexico when he arrives.
“Originally, I was hopeful … [this would] be resolved,” Sanchez told CNA. “I was sad [when I got the news] because of the community I was serving,” he said. “This is a very small and poor community in Texas and this was my first role as a pastor.”
Sanchez applied for residency two years ago but said the process was repeatedly delayed and then his application was eventually denied in November 2024. He appealed the denial and later applied for a different visa but said he ultimately “ran out of time.” He still hopes the matter can be resolved so he can return to his parish at some point.
“I spoke to my bishop about it and the attorney, but there’s nothing else that [I] can do except return to Mexico,” he said. Sanchez said the delay was caused by a backlog of applicants and that he was denied because of a lack of available spots for visas. He noted that asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors were given priority and that priests cannot have a “change of status for residency, because the spots are already taken.”
“True forgiveness does not wait for repentance, but is offered first,” the Pope explained during the General Audience in the Paul VI Hall on 20 August, noting that “forgiving does not mean denying evil, but preventing it from generating more evil.”
