Longtime Democratic Congressmember Raúl 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. Raúl 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.