What to Know
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating embattled Rep. Eric Swalwell for violating federal employment and immigration law after a right-wing filmmaker who previously sued the Democratic congressman accused him of illegally paying a foreign-born nanny to look after his three children after her visa expired.
A DHS spokesperson confirmed Sunday that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials had referred an investigation into Swalwell to DHS law enforcement. They did not say which agency was handling the investigation, which was first reported by Politico.
"Federal law prohibits employers from knowingly hiring aliens who are not authorized to work in the United States. No employer, including a member of Congress, is above the law," the spokesperson said in an unsigned email. "DHS will continue to aggressively enforce statutes to uphold the rule of law and protect American workers."
Swalwell's congressional office and campaign for California governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The federal probe comes as Swalwell faces unrelated accusations that he twice raped a congressional staffer in 2019, when she worked for his Castro Valley district office, and again in 2024 after she had left her job, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Three other women told CNN he sent them unsolicited photos of his penis and that he kissed one of them and touched her leg while they were drinking at a bar.
Swalwell denied the accusations as "absolutely false" and had resisted calls to drop out of the governor's race, in which he is a leading candidate, and resign from office as of Sunday afternoon. His attorney Elias Dabaie sent cease-and-desist letters to two of his accusers, and said the congressman would return to the campaign trail to clear his name after taking time to spend with friends and family.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating the 2024 assault, which reportedly happened in New York City. Democrats in Congress and the California Legislature have called upon Swalwell to drop out of the governor's race, and he is facing a potential expulsion motion in the House.
In February, conservative filmmaker Joel Gilbert filed a complaint with DHS, USCIS, and Homeland Security Investigations about the Swalwells' allegedly employing a Brazilian woman whose work visa had expired in December 2022. In another complaint submitted to the Department of Labor earlier this week, he claimed Swalwell had used campaign funds to pay the woman to take care of his three children for years after the expiration of her J-1 visa in late 2022.
The woman reportedly received a new work permit in 2024. Gilbert confirmed in an email Sunday afternoon that he had sent complaints via certified mail to DOL and DHS.
Gilbert is known for his conspiratorial documentaries claiming musician Paul McCartney is dead and the late Elvis Presley is still alive. He previously sued Swalwell in January, claiming the congressman did not live in his East Bay district and was not qualified to run for governor.
Separately, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte referred investigation of potential mortgage fraud charges into Swalwell to the Department of Justice, which Swalwell sued him over.
Swalwell dropped that lawsuit last month.
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Lia Russell; The Sacramento Bee; (TNS) || ©2026 The Sacramento Bee. Visit at sacbee.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
