{"id":2411448,"date":"2025-03-08T16:59:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-08T21:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-staffer-confirms-aoc-used-loophole-to-avoid-serious-federal-crime\/"},"modified":"2025-03-08T17:00:42","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T22:00:42","slug":"ex-staffer-confirms-aoc-used-loophole-to-avoid-serious-federal-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-staffer-confirms-aoc-used-loophole-to-avoid-serious-federal-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Staffer Confirms AOC Used Loophole to Avoid Serious Federal Crime"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fex-staffer-confirms-aoc-used-loophole-to-avoid-serious-federal-crime%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2411448&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article\u2063 discusses the case of Diego de la Vega, a former aide to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), who is an undocumented immigrant. De la Vega arrived in the\u2064 United \u2063States at a young age and overstayed his visa. he then became\u2062 involved in political activism, particularly after the failed Dream act in 2010. He worked with organizations \u200cadvocating for undocumented immigrants\u2062 and was involved in securing financial relief\u2062 for them in 2021. <\/p>\n<p>In \u20632022, he joined AOC\u2019s reelection campaign\u200c as her\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">deputy communications director<\/a>. Though, it was revealed that DACA recipients like him\u200d are not legally permitted to work in congressional offices, which raised questions about his employment status. de la Vega later chose to self-deport to Colombia, expressing frustration with the limitations of the \u200cimmigration movement and the political\u2063 system&#8217;s inability to provide a pathway for undocumented immigrants. His departure and the implications of employing someone without \u200dlegal status in a \u200cgovernmental role\u200d have\u200c sparked debates about immigration laws and portrayal.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/james-okeefe-infiltrates-secretive-illegal-immigrant-camp-journalist-claims-he-was-held-at-gunpoint\/\" title=\"James O\u2019Keefe Infiltrates Secretive Illegal Immigrant Camp, Journalist Claims He Was Held At Gunpoint\">illegal immigrant working<\/a> for her, marking an apparent sidestep of federal law.<\/p>\n<p>Diego de la Vega, who was born in Quito, Ecuador, came to the United States for the first time in 2001 as a seven-year-old, eventually overstaying his visitor&rsquo;s visa, according to a Thursday <a href=\"https:\/\/migrantinsider.com\/p\/aoc-campaign-aide-self-deports-to\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from Migrant Insider.<\/p>\n<p>De la Vega, who later enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, got involved politically after the Dream Act failed in 2010. The law would have granted temporary conditional residency and the right to work for those brought to the United States as children.<\/p>\n<p>He started serving as a communications worker in the New York State Assembly, and for Make the Road NY, which advocates for illegal aliens.<\/p>\n<p>Through that organization, he helped to secure $2.1 billion in 2021 to pay $15,000 relief checks to illegal aliens barred from federal emergency aid.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Ocasio-Cortez&rsquo;s reelection campaign tapped him in 2022, and he became the progressive firebrand&rsquo;s deputy communications director.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Alexandria comes from an organizing background herself, so she likes to hire people who  that experience,&rdquo; de la Vega, now 31, told Migrant Insider.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She&rsquo;s an excellent communicator, and the team she built is top-notch.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>DACA recipients are not allowed to work for paid positions in congressional offices, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/former-illegal-immigrant-aide-aoc-self-deports-colombia-questions-employment-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from Fox News, meaning that de la Vega was not taking a paycheck from her office.<\/p>\n<p>His LinkedIn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/diego-de-la-vega-05b8a9152\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">profile<\/a> shows him working for the AOC campaign through the end of last year.<\/p>\n<p>The outlet reached out to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/democratic-civil-war-pelosi-faces-challenge-one-aocs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ocasio-Cortez&rsquo;s<\/a> team but has not received a response.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, de la Vega has now self-deported to Colombia.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In my late 20s, I began to seriously consider how precarious my future in the U.S. was,&rdquo; he told Migrant Insider.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I thought about what would happen if I just left, if I went to Latin America, if I embraced my identity as a Latino instead of trying to fit the image of a picture-perfect immigrant.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>De la Vega&rsquo;s wife is an illegal alien without <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/biden-administration-makes-rule-change-give-taxpayer-funded-health-insurance-100000-illegal-immigrants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DACA<\/a> status, meaning she was even more vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p>Even beyond the ascendance of President Donald Trump, de la Vega said that &ldquo;the likelihood of amnesty, citizenship, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-revives-catch-and-release-to-avoid-housing-illegal-immigrants-amid-border-surge\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Revives \u2018Catch-And-Release\u2019 To Avoid Housing Illegal Immigrants Amid Border Surge\">comprehensive immigration reform<\/a> seemed slim.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He was not convinced that former Vice President Kamala Harris or most other Democrats could accomplish such an agenda.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I became frustrated with how the immigration movement was operating. The messaging, the policy proposals&mdash;there was a massive amount of money behind them, yet they all failed,&rdquo; he continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The movement has become calcified. It&rsquo;s run by executives with foundation ties who are disconnected from field workers and grassroots leadership.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The fact that an illegal alien whose family broke <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wary-illegal-aliens-started-reverse-flow-trend-just-weeks-trump-admin-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">immigration<\/a> law to enter the country can move American policy, especially to win payouts for other illegal aliens and overhaul our immigration system, all while remaining an illegal alien himself, is completely unjust.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s essentially a burglary of the American people in their own country.<\/p>\n<p>Even worse is the fact that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/aoc-tries-fails-put-brave-face-hearing-homan-store\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AOC<\/a> was willing to sidestep immigration law to make sure de la Vega could continue in that course even at the highest levels of our government.<\/p>\n<p>Ocasio-Cortez was elected to represent New Yorkers, not foreigners illegally residing in New York.<\/p>\n<p>But like so many other Democrats, she decided to put foreigners first and her own people second.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez employed an undocumented immigrant, seemingly violating federal law. Diego de la Vega, originally from Quito, Ecuador, arrived in the U.S. in 2001 at the age of seven and later overstayed his visa. He participated in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and became politically active after the Dream Act&#8217;s failure in 2010. De la Vega worked as a communications staffer for the New York State Assembly and Make the Road NY, which advocates for undocumented immigrants. Through this organization, he helped secure $2.1 billion in 2021 to provide relief checks to undocumented individuals excluded from federal aid.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s reelection campaign hired him as her deputy communications director. De la Vega noted that Ocasio-Cortez values hiring individuals with organizing experience like his own. However, DACA recipients are prohibited from holding paid positions in congressional offices; thus, he did not receive a salary from her office.<\/p>\n<p>De la Vega has since returned to Colombia and expressed concerns about his future in the U.S., particularly regarding immigration reform prospects under political leaders like Kamala Harris. He criticized how immigration advocacy has become stagnant and disconnected from grassroots efforts while highlighting that it is unjust for an undocumented individual to influence American policy while remaining illegal himself\u2014suggesting it undermines American citizens&#8217; interests<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2411449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture-68.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[8334,50410,51794,51793,13150],"class_list":["post-2411448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-aoc","tag-controversy-2","tag-ex-staffer","tag-federal-crime","tag-loophole"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture-68.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2411448"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2411452,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411448\/revisions\/2411452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2411449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2411448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2411448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2411448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}