Border Czar Tom Homan announced Monday that he has officially opened a federal investigation into Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) over allegations that she employed an undocumented immigrant on her staff and assisted other illegal aliens in evading Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Ocasio-Cortez is under investigation by the Trump administration for two alleged offenses: employing an undocumented immigrant who subsequently aided another individual in evading ICE. In an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, Homan stated that he has instructed the agency to pursue legal action against her.
“It’s being looked at (AOC employing illegal alien), can’t comment past that. I’m aware of it, we’ve asked ICE to drill in on that case,” Homan said. “As far as her educating people how to evade ICE arrests, she’s really educating them on how to avoid prosecution. Because there are statutes on the books when you knowingly hinder your removal, that’s a crime.”
Johnson questioned how an undocumented immigrant could have secured employment in Congress and potentially gain access to classified information.
“It is not possible,” Homan stressed, emphasizing that the congresswoman will be held accountable if such claims are accurate.
In March, Diego de la Vega voluntarily left the U.S. amid intensified deportation efforts by the Trump administration, citing concerns for his safety, TownHall.com reported. He became politically active in 2010 when he supported the DREAM Act, legislation that sought to create a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.
Although the bill narrowly failed in the Senate by five votes, de la Vega, despite his undocumented status, worked as a “special assistant” to former Harlem Assemblymember Robert J. Rodriguez and interned for Representative Carolyn Maloney (D), the report added.
In 2022, de la Vega was appointed Deputy Communications Director by Ocasio-Cortez. In an interview with Migrant Insider, AOC praised him, saying, “Diego is amazing.”
In February, Homan sent an email to the deputy attorney general requesting an investigation into Ocasio-Cortez. That came shortly after reports emerged that the New York Democrat was hosting seminars teaching undocumented immigrants how to avoid ICE enforcement.
Following Homan’s email to the DOJ, AOC revealed that the Trump administration had yet to answer her requests about whether she is under federal investigation.
“I’ve asked them, they haven’t responded to me,” Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News early last month. “But you know, I was once again fully using the First Amendment to inform people of their constitutional rights. They say a lot of things, but I’ve written a formal letter, and they won’t respond.”
When asked about the potential fallout, she didn’t hold back. She claimed that detaining an elected official “without any actual grounds,” she said, would represent a “tremendous sea change and escalation in what this administration is willing to do to bend laws, norms, et cetera, and how a normal functioning democracy works.”
“I sure hope that for all the saber-rattling that this administration is doing, that they really think about the global consequences of what it means for the United States,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
The congresswoman organized a “Know Your Rights” webinar earlier this year, in which lawyers advised illegal immigrants on how to respond to interactions with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities.
The internet forum, held in both English and Spanish, provided legal advice and distributed papers, including one declaring that immigrants “do not have to open the door” for ICE officials unless they had a judge-signed warrant.
Ocasio-Cortez’s office also supplied information on how to receive pro bono legal assistance and urged undocumented people to sign privacy release forms, which would allow her office to interfere in deportation proceedings.
Ocasio-Cortez has forcefully denied any allegations that her actions were inappropriate, labeling the prospect of a federal inquiry “politically motivated.”