An unlawful immigrant who as soon as served as an aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has reportedly self-deported to Colombia, praising the “freedom of movement” within the South American nation after working in Congress regardless of being within the nation illegally.
Diego de la Vega was born in Ecuador and immigrated to america as a 7-year-old in 2001 on a customer’s visa that he overstayed, Migrant Insider reported.
The information raises thorny questions on his employment standing for the Queens-based congresswoman.
“It’s bittersweet. I hadn’t left the country in 23 years — from age seven to age 30,” de la Vega advised Migrant Insider. “Now, I can’t go back to the U.S. It feels like exile. It’s a very permanent move. But my wife and I are confident we made the right decision. And, after some time, it’s been a real pleasure to be here.
VANCE TAKES VICTORY LAP IN BORDER VISIT AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT NUMBERS PLUMMET
Diego de la Vega, a former aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has self-deported to Colombia, according to news reports. (LionkedIn; Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
“It feels surreal to not be illegalized anymore. I don’t must reside within the shadows or continuously fear about paperwork,” he added. “That freedom of motion is extremely satisfying.”
De la Vega became politically active after the failure of the Dream Act in 2010, when the legislation fell just five votes short in the Senate.
After working for an immigrant rights group, he served as communications director for Robert Rodriguez, then a member of the New York State Assembly, who currently serves as president and CEO of the New York State Dormitory Authority, according to his LinkedIn page.
In 2021, de la Vega was hired by Ocasio-Cortez’s re-election campaign and eventually became her deputy communications director.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., listens to witness testimony during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing with sanctuary city mayors on Capitol Hill March 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
“Diego is wonderful,” Ocasio-Cortez told the news outlet. “We love him.”
De la Vega worked for Ocasio-Cortez despite not being a U.S. citizen. DACA recipients are barred from paid positions in congressional offices.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the congresswoman’s office.
“We had been all the time trustworthy with voters in New York Metropolis,” de la Vega said of working with Ocasio-Cortez. “We didn’t dumb it down or inform them what they needed to listen to. We engaged with them actually. We listened, then defined that Alexandria was preventing for reform, however Republicans had been blocking it.”
He noted that he became frustrated with how the immigration movement was going.
“Protections are going away, no matter who’s within the White Home. The technique hasn’t tailored to the trendy period,” he said. “Biden had a trifecta — the Home, Senate and White Home, however dropped the ball.”
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As a child, de la Vega said he lived in fear but said he had a good childhood in New York. He said he may not be able to return to the U.S. “for a few years” but that “it feels fulfilling to be residence.”
