New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bypassed federal law to ensure that an illegal immigrant could work for her from 2022 as the deputy communications director of her campaign.
Diego de la Vega, from Ecuador, overstayed his visitor’s visa after coming to the United States for the first time in 2001.
De la Vega, who enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, became politically involved when the Dream Act failed in 2010.
The law would have granted temporary conditional residency and the right to work.
He later became a communications worker in the New York State Assembly and for Make the Road NY, which advocates for illegal immigrants. He also secured $2.1 billion in 2021 to pay 15,000 relief checks to illegal aliens barred from federal emergency aid.
In 2022, Ocasio-Cortez’s reelection campaign tapped De la Vega as the deputy communications director.
