Former illegal immigrant aide to AOC self-deports to Colombia amid questions about employment: report

Diego de la Vega was born in Ecuador and immigrated to the United States as a 7-year-old in 2001 on a visitor's visa that he overstayed, Migrant Insider reported. 

The news raises thorny questions about his employment status 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 told 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.

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.

In 2021, de la Vega was hired by Ocasio-Cortez's re-election campaign and eventually became her deputy communications director.

"Diego is amazing," 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. 

He noted that he became frustrated with how the immigration movement was going. 

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 many years" but that "it feels fulfilling to be home."