The Department of Homeland Security opened an investigation Sunday into allegations that Rep. Eric Swalwell employed a Brazilian national as a nanny without proper work authorization, adding another federal probe to the embattled California Democrat's mounting legal troubles.
The immigration complaint stems from a 68-page filing submitted to federal officials in February by Joel Gilbert, a California filmmaker who describes himself as "the conservative Michael Moore." Gilbert alleges Swalwell and his wife violated immigration law by hiring a Brazilian woman to care for their children despite her lack of a valid work permit.
Gilbert's credibility carries significant baggage. He mailed an anti-Barack Obama conspiracy documentary to swing-state voters before the 2012 election, promoting the baseless theory that Obama's real father was communist activist Frank Marshall Davis, not Barack Obama Sr. The filmmaker also claimed Obama's mother posed for pornographic images. Gilbert faced a Federal Election Commission complaint in 2012 alleging his direct-mail campaign violated finance laws by functioning as an undisclosed contribution to Mitt Romney.
Conservative lawyer Cleta Mitchell helped Gilbert beat the FEC complaint by convincing three Republican commissioners his Obama film qualified as journalism rather than campaign material, resulting in a 3-3 split decision that dismissed the case.
The DHS probe arrives as Swalwell faces intensifying pressure from multiple directions. The congressman suspended his California gubernatorial campaign Sunday while denying sexual misconduct allegations from four women. Manhattan prosecutors opened a criminal investigation Saturday into one alleged sexual assault that reportedly occurred in New York in 2024.
Members of Congress from both parties said Sunday they could vote to expel Swalwell from the House, as Insider Wire previously reported. Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales also faces expulsion calls over separate sexual misconduct allegations.
Gilbert denied operating as a Republican political operative despite his clearly partisan film output, which includes documentaries attacking Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton and Al Gore while celebrating Donald Trump. "I just kind of follow the truth where I see it," Gilbert said in an interview.
The immigration investigation represents a new front in Swalwell's legal battles that could carry serious consequences. Federal law prohibits knowingly hiring unauthorized workers, with penalties including fines and potential criminal charges for willful violations involving patterns of misconduct.
California Democrats have begun distancing themselves from Swalwell's gubernatorial bid, with several party officials calling for his resignation from Congress. The congressman previously survived controversy over his relationship with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang, though he was removed from the House Intelligence Committee.
The immigration probe will likely take months to resolve, adding uncertainty to Swalwell's political future as criminal and congressional investigations proceed simultaneously.
