Adelita Grijalva Contends Many Detainees 'Not Criminal'

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) recently joined hundreds of protesters at the University of Arizona (UofA) for the January 30th 'ICE Out' national protest. In an exclusive interview with Cactus Politics, she contended that many of the people detained are following legal immigration processes, not committing crimes.

This comes after protesters marched from campus through downtown Tucson, gathering at the Tucson Federal Building on Congress Street, where they joined students from local high schools and other community members.

Students and community members chanted "Listen, listen, we are the fight" in Spanish as they walked.

In the interview, Grijalva drew a sharp distinction between criminal and civil violations. "I don't think anyone is arguing that people who are criminals" should avoid consequences, she explained. "But if their only crime is going through an asylum process or going through the court process that we've outlined for them to be able to have legal status here, overstaying their visa, those are civil. They're not criminal."

She emphasized that many detainees are actively participating in the legal immigration system. "People who are undocumented here, there are many that are being picked up that are in the process" of going through court proceedings.

She further argued that most detainees do not have criminal records, stating, "The percentage is very low, yeah, I mean very low.”

Grijalva's Current Views

Grijalva sees current enforcement tactics as an unprecedented departure from past practices. "We never saw this level of violence," she said, comparing current operations to those of longtime border patrol, Customs and Border Protection, and ICE officers who have served in her community for years.

She believes the aggressive approach comes directly from federal leadership.

The freshman representative described what she sees as a troubling shift: officers who should be trained to de-escalate situations instead appear to be operating under pressure to meet quotas "by any means necessary, breaking down doors."

Courts have ruled some methods illegal, she noted, yet enforcement continues, and they are “[doubling] down on them."

Run In With ICE

Grijalva shared her own instance of officer behavior. In one incident involving approximately 40 officers, only one acted with basic civility. "Everyone else is like, I don't give a — who you are," she recalled.

The treatment left her doubting whether meaningful reform is possible under current leadership. "I just don't have a lot of faith that this administration can be the one that rebuilds, because the situation that we're in is based on their directive," Grijalva said.

Throughout the interview, Grijalva argued that the aggressive tactics aren't just the work of a few bad officers; they're part of a larger plan from federal leadership that goes against what law enforcement should stand for.