She was born on October 30, 1970, in Tucson, Arizona. Her grandfather was a bracero who immigrated from Mexico in 1945.
Adelita Grijalva's parents were not undocumented when she was born. Her family's history includes legal immigration through her grandfather,
Adelita Grijalva's family was directly shaped by the Bracero Program, as her grandfather came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1945 under the program, which allowed Mexican laborers to work temporarily in American agriculture. This history influenced her father Raúl Grijalva's lifelong advocacy for immigrant and labor rights in Congress.