Rep. Raul Grijalva arrested while protesting outside Trump Tower in New York City

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva and two other Democratic members of Congress were arrested as they led immigration-related protests outside Trump Tower on Tuesday.

The eight-term Arizona Democrat has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants and its decision to end an executive action by former President Barack Obama that temporarily protected "dreamers" from removal proceedings.

Grijalva, along with U.S. Reps. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., and Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., are expected to be released from New York City police custody later Tuesday. They were arrested as they blocked traffic in front of President Donald Trump's signature office building in midtown Manhattan and refused to leave when asked by police.

The arrest is believed to be Grijalva's third for civil disobedience. His earlier arrests dated to the Vietnam era and in 2013 in Washington, D.C., involving immigration rights.

Grijalva, whose district includes the Tucson area, is co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

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