Two recently filed complaints accuse California Rep. Eric Swalwell of immigration and employment law violations by paying his family's live-in Brazilian nanny with campaign funds while she lacked valid work authorization.

Filmmaker and political activist Joel Gilbert filed a complaint on February 16, 2026, with the Department of Homeland Security alleging unauthorized employment of the nanny, Amanda Barbosa, for two years after her au pair visa expired at the end of December 2022. A separate complaint went to the Federal Election Commission that month over the misuse of over $200,000 in campaign funds for personal childcare. A new complaint filed Tuesday with the Department of Labor claimed Swalwell and his wife, Brittany, lied to federal authorities to keep Barbosa employed.

Barbosa, 33, from Rio de Janeiro, arrived in the U.S. in January 2021 on a J-1 au pair visa and began working as a live-in nanny for the Swalwells' three children in the fall of 2021. Federal Election Commission records show her receiving $3,914 from Swalwell's campaign in 2021 and $46,930 in 2022. After her visa expired, direct payments stopped, but the campaign reimbursed Swalwell $52,262 for "childcare" expenses from 2023 to 2024. In 2025, she received another $38,905 in campaign funds.

Social media photos from Barbosa's now-deleted accounts depict her caring for the children at family events, including White House picnics in 2023 and 2024, Halloween in 2024, and with Brittany Swalwell in 2025. After her au pair visa lapsed, Barbosa enrolled in community college under a student visa, which prohibits off-campus work. The Swalwells initiated a green card sponsorship in December 2022, with labor certification approved in 2024.

The complaints surfaced as Swalwell’s political standing deteriorated. He has since ended his campaign for California governor and announced plans to resign from Congress amid mounting controversies, including separate sexual misconduct allegations from four women, including a former staffer who claimed assault. Swalwell has denied those claims as “absolutely false” and has not responded to requests for comment on the nanny allegations.

Swalwell has a history of campaign finance disputes over childcare. In 2022, the FEC ruled he could not use funds for overnight childcare during foreign travel but allowed limited use tied to specific campaign events. Critics, including Gilbert, argue the payments reflect a pattern of personal use exceeding those limits, totaling over $300,000 in recurring childcare expenses from 2021 to 2025.

The Department of Labor, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FEC have not announced investigations or findings. Swalwell's office and the agencies did not immediately respond to inquiries.