AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva died last week from complications of his lung cancer treatment. He was the son of a Mexican immigrant and served in the House of Representatives for more than 20 years. Arizona Public Media's Paola Rodriguez reports.
PAOLA RODRIGUEZ, BYLINE: Raul Grijalva was born in 1948 and grew up in the barrios of South Tucson. His father was a ranch laborer under the Bracero guest worker program.
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RAUL GRIJALVA: My parents came here seeking a dream, not necessarily for themselves, but for their children. And they succeeded. And for that, I am very grateful.
RODRIGUEZ: He started in politics as a Tucson Unified School District board member, where he pushed for bilingual education programs and was elected to Congress in 2002.
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RODRIGUEZ: A proud progressive, Grijalva was arrested twice as a congressman, first in 2013 at a big immigration rights rally at the Capitol and again in 2017 outside Trump Tower in New York, protesting the cancellation of protections for DACA recipients. A champion for conservation issues, he was chairman and ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, and Grijalva advocated for Native Americans.
CARLETTA TILOUSI: He shared the struggles of our community. And he heard our voices as tribal leaders and stood next to us.
RODRIGUEZ: Carletta Tilousi is a former councilwoman for the Havasupai tribe. In 2023, she worked with Grijalva to designate a new national monument in Arizona, the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon. It protects nearly 1 million acres of public lands from uranium mining. Tilousi says Grijalva's death will be felt far and wide.
TILOUSI: The lesson I remember is his kindness, his willingness to talk to even Republicans and other leaders and unite us all together to find a common ground for future generations.
RODRIGUEZ: Raul Grijalva was 77 years old and is survived by three daughters. For NPR News, I'm Paola Rodriguez in Tucson.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUSTAF LJUNGGREN & EMIL DE WAAL'S "SKOMAKARSKEPPET") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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