These are the obviously well made shoes that enabled Luis Canales to attempt to walk from Honduras in Central America to the U.S. four times.

By Len Lear

Luis Canales’ story should be in Time magazine, the New York Times and on “60 Minutes.” It is that compelling and probably unique. After all, how many people have walked 7,500 miles in one pair of shoes to escape murderers? Canales, 29, now lives in the city’s Nicetown section — not exactly next to Chestnut Hill, but his story must be told.

Luis, who always had a passion for justice, even as a child, grew up in Honduras, where gangs and drugs were prevalent if not ubiquitous (as in some parts of the U.S.). When Canales was just 14, a radio station broadcast his fierce opposition to gangs and drugs. During one speech, he went in front of city hall and called for more protection in his mountainous hometown of Siguateque, population about 75,000. (Luis is the 12th of 14 children of Roman Canales and Lucia Garcia.)

Gang members obviously heard his broadcast and decided to silence him permanently. “One morning in 2003 I was on my way to work at the station on my bicycle, and a gang member started to chase me,” said Canales. “I began to go downhill on a gravel road where there was a fork in the road. The gang member stopped his bicycle and got out his gun and shot.

“At that moment, I fell from my bike and was knocked unconscious. That saved my life. The gang member thought he had killed me, so he took off. I still have the scars from falling. That’s when I told my parents, ‘This is serious, I have to leave Honduras.’”

Shortly thereafter, at age 16, Canales walked from Honduras all the way to the U.S., about 2,400 miles, but he was intercepted by immigration authorities and flown back to his home country. Undeterred, Luis began walking again and made it this time to Mexico City, about 900 miles, where he was detained by authorities and sent back to Honduras by bus. Again, he began walking north and again was caught in Mexico and again returned home by bus.

Needless to say, Luis put on his walking shoes again and this time made it all the way to the U.S. on Jan. 13, 2005. This time, however, Luis caught a break. Now 17, Luis had learned of a cousin living in Scranton, PA. After the immigration authorities confirmed this information, they released Luis to his cousin. Combining all four attempts, Luis had walked almost 7,500 miles in the same pair of shoes — shoes that are still with him!

In 2009 Canales earned his GED and was accepted to two colleges, but he was not allowed to attend either of them until he was granted asylum in 2010. Canales finally started college at Marywood University in Scranton, where he graduated with honors in 2014. Although he wanted to return to Honduras to see his one remaining grandmother, she died before he became a U.S. citizen in August, 2014.

When asked by this reporter about the view of President Trump and his supporters that immigrants should “wait in line” rather than enter the country illegally, Luis replied, “According to the Immigration and Naturalization Act, it is not a crime to cross the border. It is a civil offense, not criminal. (Illegal) immigrants can be sent back, but it is not a crime. People should follow the law, but the immigration laws in the U.S. are broken and need to be repaired.

“If I had ‘waited in line,’ I’d be six feet under the ground now. I would not have been able to help the people I have helped or those I will help in the future. No one would know about me, and my story wouldn’t empower anyone. We should look at them (immigrants) on a case-by-case basis.

“Of course there are some bad people who get into the country, but every country has some bad people. It is outrageous to label all Latinos or immigrants as bad. I love this country, so let’s not generalize. I tried to come here four times. I knew it would be a place where I’d be safe. We don’t come here to take but to give back. Sometimes it takes a face to tell the story.”

Last month Canales graduated from Villanova University Law School, and he will be taking the bar exam on July 25 and 26. In his spare time he has volunteered for an organization in Scranton that teaches illiterate Americans to read and teaches English to immigrants. Canales was also selected to address the United Nations in September, 2016, on the importance of protecting the rights of refugees and migrants.

Since 2010 Luis has been married to Maryori Canales, a research assistant at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who is also working on a master’s degree in social work at Widener University. Luis has a son, Luis Canales Jr., who was born in Honduras but was also threatened by gang members, so Luis was allowed to rescue him and bring him to Philadelphia to live with him and Maryori. The younger Canales is now an honor student at Franklin Learning Center.

“We must remember,” Canales told us, “that we are a nation of immigrants. We must think of the most humane way to assist those (immigrants) who are already here and remember that people fleeing persecution must use other means (than going through the legally established process) to come here. That is what this country has always stood for.”

For more information: luiscanales14@yahoo.com. The Center for Migration Studies of New York contributed to this article.