ICE disputes Arizona Rep. Grijalva's pepper spray claims throughout Tucson operation

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday accused Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., of becoming a member of a "rioting crowd" and trying to intervene with brokers throughout a mass arrest operation final week.

The accusation got here after Grijalva claimed she was " pushed aside and pepper sprayed " throughout an immigration raid on Dec. 5 in Tucson, an account ICE flatly rejected.

"Throughout the operation, U.S. Consultant Adelita Grijalva joined the rioting crowd and tried to impede regulation enforcement officers, then took to social media to slander regulation enforcement by falsely claiming she was pepper sprayed," ICE stated in an announcement.

Fox Information Digital has reached out to Grijalva’s workplace for remark.

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Legislation enforcement take care of protesters after an ICE raid on a restaurant in Tuscon, Arizona, on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. The enterprise, Taco Giro, is being investigated on suspicion of immigration and tax evasion. (Derek Shook for Fox Information Digital)

ICE and its federal companions arrested 46 unlawful immigrants through the operation, the results of a "multiyear investigation right into a transnational felony group concerned in labor exploitation, tax violations, and immigration violations," the company stated.

ICE stated "over 100 agitators" arrived at one of many areas it searched and "tried to impede law enforcement operations ."

"Agitators rapidly turned violent, assaulting officers and slashing tires," ICE added.

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday pushed again in opposition to accusations from Arizona Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva, who claimed she was pepper sprayed throughout an immigration raid. (@Rep_Grijalva by way of X)

In a put up on X on Friday, Grijalva stated she was "pushed apart and pepper sprayed" after searching for info from officers throughout ICE’s operation close to the Taco Giro restaurant.

"ICE simply performed a raid by Taco Giro in Tucson — a small mom-and-pop restaurant that has served our neighborhood for years," Grijalva wrote. "Once I offered myself as a Member of Congress asking for extra info, I used to be pushed apart and pepper sprayed."

Grijalva additionally referred to as ICE a "lawless company" that's "working with no transparency, no accountability, and open disregard for primary due course of" in a separate X put up.

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Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin instantly disputed Grijalva's account, saying she was by no means straight sprayed however merely within the "neighborhood of somebody who was."

"If her claims had been true, this is able to be a medical marvel," McLaughlin stated. "However they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper sprayed. She was within the neighborhood of somebody who was pepper sprayed as they had been obstructing and assaulting regulation enforcement."

ICE stated two individuals within the crowd had been arrested – one for assaulting a federal regulation enforcement officer and one other for damaging a authorities automobile. Two Homeland Safety Investigation Particular Response Group operators had been additionally injured.

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Protesters stand behind a gate locked with a motorbike lock, which blocked federal brokers from leaving a restaurant in Tuscon, Arizona, after an ICE raid was performed on the enterprise on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (Derek Shook for Fox Information Digital)

When reached for remark, DHS referred Fox Information Digital to ICE’s assertion on the operation. ICE didn't instantly reply to a request for remark.