Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva participates in a border wall protest in southern Arizona.
“This 100-mile-long monster of metal will do nothing to solve our immigration problem,” Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva said on November 15, 2025.
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva said she was pepper sprayed on Dec. 5 during a protest against immigration enforcement in Tucson.
Protesters had gathered near Taco Giro, a Mexican restaurant that was raided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier in the day.
Grijalva, a progressive Democrat and vocal critic of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, was in the area at the time of the protests, aide Nate Segal said. Sigal said she went to the scene after staff alerted her to the disturbance.
Video from a local TV affiliate showed protesters holding signs criticizing ICE and yelling at officers as they detained people. Grijalva can be seen walking towards the officers, talking to them and coughing.
Another video posted online by Grijalva shows smoke billowing near the feet of the deputy as he walks toward the officer. Protesters can be heard shouting in the background.
Based on the video, it is unclear whether the officers’ actions were aimed specifically at Grijalva or were part of a broader crowd control operation.
“The community stopped” the company of about 40 ICE agents, most of whom were wearing masks, Grijalva said in a video posted on social media. “They were concerned that they were taking people away without due process.”
“When I identified myself as a lawmaker and asked for more information, I was pushed aside and pepper sprayed,” she wrote.
The Friday morning attack that sparked the protests was part of a broader sweep of the area. ICE spokesman Fernando X. Burgos said ICE Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation and other federal law enforcement agents were executing 16 search warrants in southern Arizona “as part of a long-standing investigation into immigration and tax violations.”
Burgos wrote that multiple people are in custody.
Burgos did not respond to The Arizona Republic’s request for comment on Grijalva’s allegations.
The incident came two days after Mr. Grijalva blasted a Border Patrol raid on a humanitarian camp on the House floor on Nov. 23.
Volunteers from the humanitarian group No More Deaths accused Border Patrol agents of breaking into a camp trailer without a warrant and arresting three illegal immigrants who were found inside.
Grijalva called the raid an example of “cruel” and “unconstitutional” immigration enforcement in southern Arizona under the direction of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have denied that Border Patrol raids on No More Death Camps are illegal.
Arizona Democrats jumped to Grijalva’s defense after the pepper spray incident. Representatives Greg Stanton and Yasamin Ansari called the incident “outrageous” and “absolutely unacceptable.”
“Pepper spraying a sitting member of Congress is disgraceful, unacceptable, and absolutely not what we voted for. Of course,” Sen. Ruben Gallego wrote.
The Trump administration has used altercations from other protests as grounds for legal action. Democratic Illinois House candidate Kat Abu-Ghazale was charged with “obstructing” police officers along with other protesters who stood in front of an immigration enforcement SUV entering a suburban Department of Homeland Security facility.
The Republic’s Daniel Gonzalez contributed reporting.
This is a developing story. Check www.azcentral.com for the latest information.
