WASHINGTON – The granddaughter of a bracero , who waited 50 days to take her seat in Congress, Rep. Adelita Grijalva stepped to the podium on the House floor and told her colleagues, "Our democracy works when everyone has a voice."

“Este momento es histórico para nuestra comunidad,” Grijalva said in Spanish, offering no translation to her hundreds of colleagues on the House floor. “Es un honor ser la primera latina en representar a Arizona en el congreso.” (“This is a historic moment for our community,” she said. “It is an honor to be the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress.)

During her roughly five-minute speech, Grijalva seamlessly switched between English and Spanish, a commonality for many who grew up along the U.S.-Mexico border, when speaking to her coll

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