Former ICE Director Tom Homan has called for a federal inquiry into Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez (AOC) amid reports that her congressional office may have employed an undocumented staffer and hosted immigration-rights outreach events aimed at undocumented immigrants. Homan claims that AOC’s “Know Your Rights” webinar — which offered guidance on interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents — and her alleged employment of the undocumented individual warrant scrutiny. According to Homan, ICE has been instructed to “drill in” on the case.

The alleged staffer in question is Diego de la Vega, a former immigrant-advocacy worker who reportedly left the U.S. amid heightened enforcement, though his employment status within AOC’s office has not been independently verified. AOC denies any wrongdoing, emphasizing that her office’s Spanish-, English- and other-language outreach sessions were constitutionally protected educational efforts informing people of their rights during immigration-enforcement encounters.

Homan argues that the webinar may cross legal boundaries, stating publicly that providing undocumented immigrants instruction on how to avoid law-enforcement actions could amount to obstruction of justice or aiding and abetting. He reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asking whether AOC’s actions might implicate federal statutes.  AOC counters that her actions are an exercise of the First Amendment and civil education, arguing any suggestion of criminal liability is politically motivated.

While Homan publicly confirmed an investigation is underway, no official DOJ or ICE release has verified charges or legal proceedings against AOC. The tension between AOC’s outreach to undocumented communities and Homan’s hardline enforcement stance reflects wider debates over immigration policy, free speech rights, and the reach of federal enforcement actions against