Democratic Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva interfered in an active immigration enforcement operation Friday in Arizona and posted the footage online.
Grijalva took office just last month after winning a special election in September to succeed her late father. Grijalva filmed herself confronting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they attempted to carry out their duties, stepping between officers and their vehicle while demanding information about the operation.
“ICE is a lawless agency under this Administration – operating with no transparency, no accountability, and open disregard for basic due process. No family in our community should live in fear, and I will not rest until we get clear answers and accountability,” Grijalva wrote.
ICE is a lawless agency under this Administration – operating with no transparency, no accountability, and open disregard for basic due process.
No family in our community should live in fear, and I will not rest until we get clear answers and accountability. pic.twitter.com/Z2mUuRxHuX
— Rep. Adelita Grijalva (@Rep_Grijalva) December 5, 2025
Grijalva posted a lengthy video accusing ICE agents of spraying her, manhandling community members and “disappearing people,” after she interfered.
“We just came up on a community that was protecting their people. We had, I would say, maybe 40 ICE agents, most of them masked in several vehicles that the community had stopped right here, right in the middle of the street, because they were afraid that they were taking people without due process, without any kind of notice,” Grijalva said. “And so I was here. This is like the restaurant I come to literally once a week and was sprayed in the face by a very aggressive agent, pushed around by others when I literally was not being aggressive.”
ICE just conducted a raid by Taco Giro in Tucson – a small mom-and-pop restaurant that has served our community for years.
When I presented myself as a Member of Congress asking for more information, I was pushed-aside and pepper sprayed. pic.twitter.com/gPx0p3IXP2
— Rep. Adelita Grijalva (@Rep_Grijalva) December 5, 2025
Should Rep. Adelita Grijalva have interfered with ICE enforcement actions?
Grijalva further expanded on her allegations, saying ICE agents ignored basic due process as officers detained two individuals.
“We saw people directly sprayed, members of our press, everybody that was with me, my staff member, myself, two staff members, we have like remnants of whatever they sprayed on us. Excuse me, it’s bothering me,” Grijalva said. “And I think that this is one of the problems, the biggest problem that we have in this community is that we have Trump that has no regard for any due process, the rule of law, the Constitution. They’re literally disappearing people from the streets. They arrested two people. We have no idea where they’re going. And I want to thank Tucson Police Department for coming and taking care of the space, making sure that everyone was safe once ICE left.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin responded by rejecting Grijalva’s account and saying the congresswoman was not pepper-sprayed during the incident. McLaughlin added that two officers were seriously injured by the crowd Grijalva joined and added that identifying oneself as a member of Congress does not grant the right to obstruct law enforcement.
If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel.
But they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper sprayed.
She was in the vicinity of someone who *was* pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement. In fact, 2 law enforcement officers were seriously… https://t.co/U0zspIuGxQ
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) December 5, 2025
“If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel. But they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper sprayed. She was in the vicinity of someone who *was* pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement,” McLaughlin wrote. “In fact, 2 law enforcement officers were seriously injured by this mob that @Rep_Grijalva joined. McPresenting one’s self as a ‘Member of Congress’ doesn’t give you the right to obstruct law enforcement.”
Democrats have a history of inserting themselves into ICE activity, including a sit-in by Maryland’s congressional delegation after agents denied them a tour of a detention facility. Maryland Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks led the group as they accused ICE of unsafe conditions and claimed to speak for their “constituents,” even though the detainees were migrants without legal status.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/XAdelita Grijalva)
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