Rep. Grijalva says ICE pepper sprayed her during raid at Arizona restaurant

U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva says federal agents pepper sprayed her during a Friday demonstration against an ICE raid at a popular restaurant on Tucson’s west side.

In a video posted on X, the southern Arizona Democrat says she was sprayed in the face by a federal agent as she attempted to get more information about the raid.

"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," Grijalva said. "The biggest problem 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."

Grijalva said two people were arrested during the raid and she thanked the Tucson Police Department for responding afterward to do traffic control. 

In an interview with the radio station KVOI, she said that the raid drew a crowd of some 60 people who were trying to stop ICE vehicles from leaving with people they'd arrested inside.

"That’s the kind of protection I think our communities are feeling like they have to provide. When you have ICE that is really lawless. It’s like a gang of thugs coming into places," Grijalva said.

Video on social media shows masked agents firing pepper balls as plumes of smoke engulf the road. ICE confirmed multiple people were in custody.

Grijalva said she did not know what substance she was sprayed with, but it was “still affecting” her with a cough.

"Special agents and officers from ICE Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, and other federal partners, are executing 16 search warrants in southern Arizona as part of a years-long investigation into immigration and tax violations. Multiple individuals are in custody," the agency said in a statement. 

Federal officials said on Friday that Grijalva was not pepper sprayed and that agents with Homeland Security Investigations were targeting multiple Tucson restaurants as part of a years-long investigation into immigration and tax violations. Several search warrants were served across southern Arizona on Friday as part of the operation.

In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described the group gathered in Tucson as a mob. She said two agents were seriously injured during the clash and took issue with Grijalva's account of what happened.

“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 (asterisk)was(asterisk) pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement,” McLaughlin wrote. “Presenting one’s self as a ‘Member of Congress’ doesn’t give you the right to obstruct law enforcement.”

Authorities used yellow tape to cordon off the restaurant and its parking lot as agents removed boxes from the building early Friday. By mid-morning, protesters had gathered outside with signs and whistles.

Video shows Grijalva approaching the agents and asking where they were taking people. She told them to stop being aggressive.

Some in the group were hit with pepper spray as they tried to keep federal vehicles from leaving the area.

In a statement, Arizona's House Democratic leadership said Grijalva was within her rights and duties to be on site and ask questions about the raid.

"Taxpayer-funded ICE employees responded with violence and aggression. This is unwarranted, un-American and unacceptable, and these agents and their superiors should be held accountable for their actions," the statement said. 

An ICE spokesperson said 46 people were arrested across southern Arizona during the operation Friday. All were undocumented Mexican nationals, according to the agency — a civil immigration offense. None of those arrested have any other charges at time.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva's full statement

“Moments ago, while my staff and I were on our way to get lunch, we encountered an ICE raid taking place at one of my favorite local restaurants, Taco Giro, a small mom-and-pop restaurant that has served our community for decades on the west side of Tucson. It’s in the heart of our community – right next to a church and a pre-school. When I presented myself as a Member of Congress and asked for more information, my staff and I were pushed aside and pepper-sprayed by masked agents. While I am fine, if that is the way they treat me, how are they treating other community members who do not have the same privileges and protections that I do?

While we still do not know the full circumstances of this raid, we do know this: under the Trump Administration, communities across the country are being terrorized by a lawless agency. Our residents deserve to know whether these raids are targeting genuine public safety threats – or law-abiding neighbors who have called our communities home for decades. ICE has become 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.” 

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to add information about arrested across southern Arizona on Friday.