The Department of Homeland Security has launched a formal investigation into Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell over allegations that he employed a Brazilian national as a live-in nanny without lawful work authorization, and used campaign funds to pay her while she was in the country illegally.
The probe, confirmed by a DHS spokesperson, follows a February complaint filed by Joel Gilbert alleging that Swalwell and his wife kept Amanda Raissa Barbosa employed for roughly two years after her temporary work authorization expired in 2022. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services collected information on the matter before referring it to DHS law enforcement, the Daily Caller reported.
The allegations land at the worst possible moment for Swalwell, who is running for governor of California to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Multiple Democrats have already called on him to end that bid. And the nanny controversy is not the only legal cloud gathering over his head, the Manhattan District Attorney announced over the weekend that it is investigating one of several sexual assault allegations against the congressman, this one stemming from an incident after a 2024 charity event.
DHS did not mince words. A spokesperson laid out the agency's position in stark terms, as Newsmax reported:
"USCIS has been collecting information on the allegations involving Congressman Eric Swalwell hiring of a Brazilian national as a nanny without lawful work authorization. These allegations are serious. USCIS has referred this matter to DHS law enforcement for investigation."
The spokesperson went further, stating that federal law prohibits employers from knowingly hiring workers who lack authorization, and that no one, including a sitting member of Congress, is above the law.
"DHS will continue to aggressively enforce statutes to uphold the rule of law and protect American workers."
That language, "no employer, including a member of Congress", was clearly aimed at Swalwell by name. The Washington Examiner noted that DHS posted on the social media platform X: "No one is above the law, including a member of Congress."
The complaint filed by Gilbert on February 16 outlines a timeline that, if accurate, describes a deliberate effort to keep Barbosa employed well past the expiration of her legal status. Barbosa entered the United States on an au pair visa in 2021. Her work authorization expired in 2022.
Rather than end the arrangement, Swalwell allegedly continued to employ Barbosa and concealed her ongoing work from 2023 until she obtained permanent work authorization in 2024. The mechanism, the complaint alleges, was campaign reimbursements. Instead of paying Barbosa directly through his campaign, as FEC records show he did in 2021 and 2022, Swalwell allegedly switched to having his campaign reimburse him personally for "child care expenses," a workaround that the complaint claims was designed to hide the employment relationship.
The New York Post reported that the complaint alleges Swalwell paid Barbosa "under the table" with campaign funds for approximately two years while she lacked valid work authorization. FEC records cited in that reporting show direct campaign payments to the nanny in 2021 and 2022, then a shift to reimbursements routed through Swalwell himself, a pattern the complainant characterizes as deliberate concealment.
A separate complaint was also filed with the Department of Labor, alleging that Swalwell and his wife misled federal authorities in 2022 while attempting to keep Barbosa employed as her temporary authorization was expiring. That complaint raises the additional question of whether false statements were made to government officials, a potentially serious legal matter on its own.
The DHS complaint itself points to what it describes as a visible social media trail. As Breitbart reported, the filing states:
"Barbosa appears in numerous social media photos with the Swalwell family throughout 2023 and 2024, indicating continued close association and ongoing childcare responsibilities despite the absence of known lawful work authorization."
That detail matters. If Barbosa's work authorization expired in 2022 and she did not receive permanent authorization until 2024, the social media record showing her with the family throughout 2023 and 2024 directly undercuts any claim that the employment had ended. The complaint's author, Joel Gilbert, put it bluntly to the New York Post: "It's a brazen disregard for the law. He's harboring and employing an illegal."
The Breitbart report also noted that Barbosa enrolled at a community college after her au pair visa expired, and that under student visa rules she would not have been permitted to work off campus, adding another layer to the question of whether her employment with the Swalwell household was ever lawful during the disputed period.
Swalwell has denied the allegations. In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, the congressman called the claims politically motivated, tying them to his gubernatorial campaign:
"These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor."
He added a broader defense of his record:
"For nearly 20 years, I have served the public, as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies."
Swalwell did not address the specific factual claims about Barbosa's work authorization status, the FEC records, or the campaign reimbursement structure described in the complaint. His response focused on characterizing the allegations as lies and on his own career narrative. Whether "the facts" he promises to present will include an explanation for the apparent shift in how his campaign paid for child care remains to be seen.
This is not the first time Swalwell's judgment and associations have drawn federal-level scrutiny. In 2023, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy removed Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee. That decision followed revelations about Swalwell's relationship with Christine Fang, who reportedly worked with Communist China's Ministry of State Security. The nature of that relationship, and how a member of the Intelligence Committee came to be entangled with a suspected Chinese operative, raised serious questions that have never been fully resolved.
Swalwell has long been a vocal critic of Republican immigration enforcement priorities. The irony of a congressman who has clashed with Republicans over DHS funding now facing a DHS investigation for allegedly employing an illegal immigrant is difficult to miss.
The broader context only sharpens the contrast. Democrats have spent years resisting tougher immigration enforcement, opposing workplace verification mandates, and reframing illegal immigration as a humanitarian issue rather than a legal one. When a sitting Democratic congressman allegedly hires an illegal immigrant, pays her through campaign funds, and then restructures those payments to avoid detection, it tests the credibility of every argument the party has made about good-faith immigration reform.
The sexual misconduct allegations that became public on Friday, and the Manhattan DA's announcement of an investigation on Saturday, only compound the political damage. Multiple Democrats have reportedly called on Swalwell to abandon his gubernatorial campaign. The combination of a DHS probe, a DA investigation, and a growing list of accusers would be career-defining trouble for any politician. For Swalwell, it arrives on top of the Fang controversy and his removal from the Intelligence Committee, a record that already strained the patience of his own party.
Congressional Democrats have talked at length about accountability agendas aimed at their political opponents. Whether that standard applies equally within their own ranks is a question the Swalwell case now forces into the open.
DHS law enforcement now has the referral. The Manhattan DA has opened its own inquiry. Swalwell says he will fight the allegations with facts and, if necessary, legal action. The complaint filed by Joel Gilbert is publicly available and includes specific claims about visa timelines, FEC payment records, and social media evidence.
The open questions are significant. What exactly did Swalwell and his wife tell federal authorities in 2022 when Barbosa's authorization was expiring? Why did the campaign payment structure change from direct payments to personal reimbursements? And if Barbosa lacked work authorization from 2022 until 2024, who, if anyone, verified her status before she was paid with campaign dollars?
Those questions matter beyond Swalwell's political future. Federal law on this point is not ambiguous. Employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers face serious legal consequences. DHS has now stated publicly that members of Congress are not exempt. The agency's willingness to enforce immigration law against politically connected individuals will be tested by how aggressively it pursues this case.
Meanwhile, the broader immigration enforcement debate continues on Capitol Hill, where even some Democrats have acknowledged past failures on border security. Swalwell's case now adds a personal dimension to that policy argument, one that his colleagues will find difficult to talk around.
The congressman who spent years lecturing Americans about the rule of law may soon discover what it feels like when the law looks back.
