The Trump administration’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency has referred allegations of Rep. Eric Swalwell illegally employing a Brazilian nanny several years ago to law enforcement officials at the Department of Homeland Security for investigation, according to a DHS spokesperson.
The probe marks an escalation of hostilities with the Trump administration, following a referral to the Justice Department for investigation into potential mortgage fraud by Swalwell, which he condemned as meritless. It also comes as the Calfornia Democrat is in a political tailspin from unrelated allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies. The Manhattan district attorney on Saturday opened an investigation into Swalwell, a gubernatorial candidate in California, because one of the sexual assault allegations was reported to have happened in New York.
The New York Post reported on Saturday that Swalwell had hired a nanny for his children, who continued to work for the family after her work authorization permit expired in 2022. She received authorization from the Department of Labor in 2024.
“USCIS has been collecting information on the allegations involving Congressman Eric Swalwell hiring of a Brazilian national as a nanny without lawful work authorization,” DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis said in a statement to POLITICO. “These allegations are serious. USCIS has referred this matter to DHS law enforcement for investigation.”
Bis declined to comment on which component of DHS would be in charge of a formal investigation.
“Federal law prohibits employers from knowingly hiring aliens who are not authorized to work in the United States,” Bis said. “No employer, including a member of Congress, is above the law.”
Swalwell and his attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A complaint filed to DHS in February said that the nanny “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.”
Swalwell reportedly paid her with tens of thousands of dollars of campaign funds between 2021 and 2022, according to FEC records cited by the Post. The Department of Labor approved her for working permanently in 2024 and then the next year, she received almost $40,000 from Swalwell’s campaign account.
In 2022, Swalwell got an advisory opinion from the FEC giving him the greenlight to expense childcare charges to his campaign if such expenses were only caused by campaign events.
