Illegal Aliens in Congress

By Daniel Greenfield @ Sultan Knish Blog

 

Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s claim to fame (apart from spending nearly 30 years in politics) was being the first former illegal alien or as his press releases state, the “only formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives”.

While being an illegal alien seems like a strange thing for an elected official to brag about, in the current political atmosphere where illegal aliens occupy a rarified space in Democratic Party politics somewhere between They/Thems and Hamas terrorists, being an illegal is an asset.

Espaillat’s badge of honor or dishonor ended when Rep. Robert Garcia, the former mayor of Long Beach, became the first gay former illegal alien in Congress, and being a gay former illegal alien comes with more identity politics points than just being a former illegal alien.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (pictured above) had more problems than that because his claim to illegal alien fame was debatable even before Garcia. 2016 was a big year for former illegal aliens running for Congress. In that same election cycle as Espaillat, there was also Rep. Ruben Kihuen who claimed to be “the first formerly undocumented immigrant elected to the U.S. Congress”.

Who was the real first former illegal alien in Congress? To answer the question, you would probably have to check the order in which Espaillat and Kihuen’s elections were called or the order in which they were sworn in. The race to be the first illegal in the House may not have gone to the fastest man, but the man with the least fast hands because while Espaillat remained in office, Kihuen was accused of propositioning and groping his finance director.

And then another woman. Who would have thought an illegal alien would act that way?

Rep. Nancy Pelosi ordered Rep. Kihuen to quit because while there’s room for illegal aliens in Congress, there’s no room for gropers or sexual harassers unless they’re the 42nd or 46th president of the United States. The first or second illegal alien alleged groper in Congress then transitioned to the Fundacion Casa de Los Migrantes, got a radio show and denounced ICE.

Rep. Espaillat, the second or first illegal alien, has been pulling his own open borders publicity stunts, demanding access to ICE facilities, and has introduced anti-ICE legislation which is at least more understandable for him than it is for much of the Democratic Party.

Even with Rep. Kihuen gone, Rep. Garcia came in to make sure that Congress has a quorum of at least two illegal aliens and three former illegal aliens. And the rate they’re going, there will eventually be enough to form a caucus. For now both former illegal aliens are part of the House New Americans Caucus alongside Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been accused of immigration fraud, but at least doesn’t proudly announce it in her press releases.

Then there are also the illegal alien congressional staffers and campaign people.

An illegal alien who worked as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Deputy Communication Director made headlines this year when he announced that he was self-deporting. If others follow suit, AOC might actually have to start hiring Americans.

Erika Andiola, an illegal alien who received a DACA stay through Obama’s illegal amnesty, worked as a staffer for Rep. Kyrsten Sinema and as a Latino outreach figure in the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. The campaign had already hired Cesar Vargas, the first illegal alien to get a law license in New York, suggesting that the Sanders campaign staffs up like a contractor weeks behind on the job swinging by Home Depot for a bucket and three illegals.

But once you leave D.C., it’s not hard to find even more former illegal aliens holding public office. And some continue getting into trouble for more than just immigration violations.

Maybe being one kind of illegal predisposes them to other kinds of illegal acts as well.

Front Page Magazine recently reported on the case of Councilwoman Tania Fernandes Anderson, a Muslim former illegal alien who became a citizen in 2019, was elected to Boston’s City Council in 2021, and by 2024, was arrested and indicted in a kickback scheme. She was finally forced to resign in July 2025, but not before councilmembers backed her resolution to make July in Boston Cabo Verdean Heritage Month and a time “to recognize and to celebrate the independence of Cabo Verde.” Perhaps for America’s sake, Tania should have stayed there.

We also reported on California State Sen. Susan Rubio, who chairs the Senate Insurance Committee, and is reportedly under FBI investigation on suspicion of bribery. Sen. Rubio and her sister, Assemblywoman Bianca Rubio, were from a family that were deported as children. Sen. Rubio recently claimed that she still carries her passport out of fear of being deported.

Considering the reported investigation, deportation is probably not what Sen. Rubio should fear most. But Sen. Rubio knows all the angles. The Rubio political sister act got its start when Sen. Rubio accused her ex-husband Assemblyman Roger Hernandez of abuse, and her sister became Assemblywoman Bianca Rubio after taking his seat. Truly an inspiration to all.

Many of the states with major illegal alien problems also have illegal aliens serving in higher office. Obama’s illegal ‘DACA’ amnesty led to a number of illegal alien ‘dreamers’ running for public office. New Mexico’s State Senator Cindy Nava, a former aide to Sen. Lujan, became one of the first illegal aliens to get a presidential appointment in the Biden administration. Luis Mata, an illegal alien running for the House in Tennessee, lost his race, but in much more liberal New York, Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz became the first elected illegal alien in New York.

In Georgia, Maria Palacios, a former DACA illegal alien, ran for office three times, “to be a voice for undocumented residents”, and her ‘citizenship’ status resulted in an extended legal battle. The citizenship pathway from the illegal Obama measure has created citizens of dubious status and once the rule of law is restored and DACA is found to have been an illegal abuse of power, a number of ‘elected officials’ will potentially have their illegal alien status restored to them.

The only question is how many of them will be in the Senate, the House or the White House.

Daniel Greenfield is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. This article previously appeared at the Center's Front Page Magazine. Click here to subscribe to my articles. And click here to support my work with a donation.  Thank you for reading.