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March 14, 2025

Raśl Grijalva, Longtime AZ Congressman and Defender of Immigrant & Environmental Rights, Dies at 77
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Longtime Democratic Congressmember Raśl Grijalva died Thursday from
complications from his cancer treatment. For over two decades, Grijalva
represented Arizona's 7th and 3rd Congressional Districts, a vast border
region that includes his hometown of Tucson. He was a leading
progressive voice who championed immigrant rights and environmental
justice. Grijalva was the longest-serving co-chair of the Congressional
Progressive Caucus and a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Grijalva's father immigrated from Mexico through the Bracero program,
which allowed agricultural workers to temporarily come to the U.S.
between the early 1940s and '60s.

Democracy Now! spoke to Congressmember Grijalva in 2017 just days before
Trump was inaugurated for his first term.

Rep. Raśl Grijalva: "When the public comes into the discussion, when
they are part of it, when they put that kind of pressure on - and that's
part of the strategy that I think, going forward, is so important. Those
of us that are in Congress that are opposed to what's going on are a
voice. But the real power in holding back some of the worst instincts of
Trump and the majority in the House and in the Senate is going to come
from people themselves."

Arizona will have to hold special elections to pick Grijalva's
successor.


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