Federal officials are reviewing allegations involving Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) related to her immigration advocacy and the employment history of a former staff member, according to public statements made by former U.S. immigration official Tom Homan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with political commentator Benny Johnson, Homan said he had requested that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) examine claims that Ocasio-Cortez employed an undocumented immigrant and that her office may have assisted migrants in avoiding immigration enforcement actions. He emphasized that the matter was under review and declined to comment on any potential outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Continue reading on next page\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s being looked at,\u201d Homan said during the interview. \u201cI\u2019m aware of it, and we\u2019ve asked ICE to review the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Homan also referenced concerns about public \u201cKnow Your Rights\u201d information sessions hosted by Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s office, arguing that advising immigrants on their legal rights could, in some circumstances, raise legal questions. Legal experts note, however, that educating individuals about constitutional protections is generally permitted under U.S. law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former staff member\u2019s background<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The allegations center in part on Diego de la Vega, a former communications staffer who left the United States earlier this year. De la Vega has been politically active for more than a decade and previously worked with several Democratic lawmakers in New York. In 2022, he was appointed Deputy Communications Director in Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ocasio-Cortez has previously praised de la Vega\u2019s work and has not publicly acknowledged any wrongdoing related to his employment. There is no public confirmation that he had access to classified information, and congressional offices typically follow established hiring and security procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ocasio-Cortez responds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ocasio-Cortez has denied any improper conduct and said she has not been formally notified of an investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve asked whether I\u2019m under investigation, and I haven\u2019t received a response,\u201d she told Fox News. \u201cWhat I have done is exercise my First Amendment rights by informing people of their constitutional protections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her office has organized \u201cKnow Your Rights\u201d webinars in both English and Spanish, where attorneys provide general legal information to immigrants. These sessions have included guidance on interactions with ICE, such as explaining that individuals are not required to open their doors without a warrant signed by a judge. Her office has also shared information on how to access legal assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ocasio-Cortez has described criticism of these efforts as politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crime concerns in the district<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Separately, some critics have pointed to rising crime rates in parts of Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s Bronx and Queens district. According to publicly available NYPD data cited by local media outlets, certain precincts in the area have experienced increases in major crimes in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Community members have expressed frustration over public safety issues, though crime trends across New York City have fluctuated during the same period and are influenced by multiple factors beyond the control of individual lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this time, no charges have been filed against Ocasio-Cortez, and federal agencies have not confirmed the existence or scope of any formal investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Federal officials are reviewing allegations involving Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) related to her immigration advocacy and the employment history of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8998"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9000,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8998\/revisions\/9000"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}