The deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is raising concerns about efforts by elected officials to interfere with federal operations following claims made by newly sworn-in Rep. Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07).
Grijalva alleged that she was “pushed aside and pepper-sprayed” by ICE agents during an enforcement action near a Tucson restaurant earlier this week.
Homeland Security officials have publicly disputed her version of events, and the incident has prompted broader questions about how federal officers are treated when conducting operations.
Grijalva posted a video to X on Friday accusing ICE officers of aggressive conduct.
She stated that community members in Tucson stopped approximately 40 ICE agents near Taco Giro, a restaurant she described as a place she frequents weekly.
According to her account, the group intervened “because they were afraid they [the agents] were taking people without due process.”
“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,” Grijalva said in the video.
“I was asking for clarification, which is my right as a member of Congress.”
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Her claims were challenged hours later by Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, who stated on X that Grijalva had not been directly targeted by officers.
“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. Presenting one’s self as a ‘Member of Congress’ doesn’t give you 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
Grijalva later posted a second video showing her telling ICE personnel to “leave,” further highlighting the confrontation between federal officers and the group of individuals who attempted to halt 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. pic.twitter.com/Z2mUuRxHuX
— Rep. Adelita Grijalva (@Rep_Grijalva) December 5, 2025
The incident occurred in the same week that ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan appeared on Fox News with host Laura Ingraham to address how the Afghan refugee accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., had entered the United States without proper vetting.
Sheahan said those responsible for national security under the Biden-Harris administration “let everyone into this country, and none of them were vetted. And now, Sec. Noem and ICE are trying to clean this up.”
She called the accused shooter “just another example of somebody who hates America, that comes to this country as a terrorist.”
It’s quite simple: We shouldn’t be letting people into America who hate America. pic.twitter.com/J1KbKWMGKg
— ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan (@ICEDeputy) December 5, 2025
In a follow-up appearance Saturday on Fox & Friends Weekend, Sheahan commented directly on the situation in Arizona and broader attempts by Democratic lawmakers to intervene in law enforcement operations.
“This is the classic move from the Democrats,” Sheahan said, “where they want to interfere with law enforcement. At what point in this country did we get to the point where you can [do that], and nothing happens to you?”
Sheahan emphasized the type of individuals ICE personnel encounter in the field.
“Our law enforcement officers are out arresting the worst of the worst, they’re arresting gang members, murderers, and rapists,” she said.
She then posed a question to voters. “If the Democrats choose to protect that group of people instead of the American people, I think…the Democrat voters need to decide what they truly believe in.”
Our @ICEgov officers are out every day arresting the worst of the worst — violent murderers, rapists, gang members and more.
Why are the Democrats choosing to protect these people instead of the American people? pic.twitter.com/95Ajdd4APm
— ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan (@ICEDeputy) December 6, 2025
ICE operations in Arizona are ongoing, and DHS has not released additional details about the enforcement action near Tucson.
Federal officials have stated that the injuries to law enforcement personnel are under review.
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