Immigration enforcement activity at Taco Giro on Grande Avenue.

Democratic members of Arizona’s congressional delegation are calling for investigations into the raid and protest in Tucson earlier this month in which Rep. Adelita Grijalva was pepper-sprayed.

Democratic members of Arizona’s congressional delegation are calling for investigations into the Tucson raid and protest earlier this month in which Rep. Adelita Grijalva was pepper-sprayed.

Calling the Dec. 5 incident an example of "a troubling pattern of abusive conduct" by the Department of Homeland Security, the request is unlikely to get any traction in the House or Senate, which are both under GOP control.

News releases about the probe link the Tucson incident to wider controversies around federal agencies' conduct during immigration sweeps across the country.

Agents with Homeland Security Investigations carried out targeted enforcement operations at multiple Tucson restaurants early Friday morning, part of a years-long investigation into immigration and tax violations, federal officials said.

One of the raids at a Taco Giro restaurant at 610 N. Grande Ave., in Barrio Hollywood on Tucson's west side, resulted in a clash between federal agents and protesters.

Federal agents showed “an aggressive response that included the deployment of chemical agents during an operation in Tucson," Democrats wrote in Dec. 12 letters to the House and Senate Homeland Security committees.

"On the same day, DHS issued a public statement denying the incident, which is inconsistent with independent press accounts, information from eyewitnesses, and video footage," the letter said. "Such contradictions further erode public trust in the Department and underscore the need for clear, transparent congressional review of its operations."

They seek a probe into excessive use of force and interference with the right to of the press to report in such operations among other issues. Two journalists also were pepper-sprayed during a protest outside a Taco Giro restaurant on Tucson’s west side, one of several locations raided that day in the city and other locations in Southern Arizona. Two protesters face criminal charges.

Democratic lawmakers from Arizona who signed on to the request for an investigation are Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, along with Reps. Greg Stanton, Yassamin Ansari and Grijalva.

The immigration enforcement agencies have disputed Grijalva's version of events.

"During the operation, U.S. Representative Adelita Grijalva joined the rioting crowd and attempted to impede law enforcement officers, then took to social media to slander law enforcement by falsely claiming she was pepper sprayed," ICE said in a written statement.

Grijalva responded by posting a video on social media showing a federal agent deploying pepper spray in her direction.

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