Federal agents raided the home of Ilhan Omar on Monday, reportedly as part of an investigation into the congresswoman’s immigration paperwork.
The warranted search of Omar’s home in the Washington, D.C., area was conducted by the Department of Homeland
Security. The search was first reported by Fox News. The Justice Department has noted that “Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice,” and that “enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal investigation,” but did not name Omar.
Omar, a progressive Democrat who was born in Somalia, has become a favorite target of Donald Trump, his administration, and MAGA politicians as they have sought to demonize Somalian immigrants, particularly in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, part of which Omar represents in Congress.
Trump called Omar “garbage” in December of last year, as his supporters chanted “send her back,” and mocked Omar’s hijab at an event later the same month. “I love her. She comes in, does nothing but bitch,” the president continued. “She’s always complaining. She comes from her country, where I mean, it’s considered about the worst country in the world, right?” He then repeated an unsubstantiated claim that Omar married her brother. “She married her brother to get in,” Trump said. “Therefore, she’s here illegally. She should get the hell out. Throw her the hell out. She does nothing but complain.”
Earlier this year, Trump wrote that Omar is “low IQ,” “mentally deranged,” and “bad for our Country,” and that she — along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who was born in Michigan but like Omar is Muslim — should be sent “back from where they came — as fast as possible.”
Trump’s administration appears to be searching for a way to prosecute Omar, and to potentially deport her. Tom Homan, the White House border czar, told Fox News last month that Omar was the subject of an “ongoing criminal investigation” but declined to provide details. “If someone committed an immigration violation, if someone committed marriage fraud or anything like that, regardless if they’re a congressman or not, no one’s above the law,” he said. “So, I’ll leave it at that. We’ll let HSI, Homeland Security Investigations, continue the investigation.”
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also said that Omar was being investigating last month, noting that “something is going to happen,” and claiming “we know she married her brother.”
However, the search of Omar’s apartment does not appear to be connected to the conspiracy theory about her brother, or supposed financial fraud. The New York Post reports that the investigation pertains to Omar’s immigration paperwork, which her father filled out when she was a child. Omar arrived in the United States from Somalia in 1995, when she was 12, and has been a U.S. citizen since 2000. She was first elected to Congress since 2018.
Trump last week posted a broader attack against Somalians in Minnesota, alleging they had “taken over” the state, which is now ridden with “Violence, Murder, and Mayhem.”
“The Somalians should not be allowed to get away with what they are doing,” the president wrote. “They view you as weak and stupid people. Fight back Minnesota, fight back!”
Omar responded on X. “Trump’s obsession with demonizing the Somali community is dangerous and reprehensible,” she wrote. “Hate to break it to him: Somali Minnesotans are resilient. We will not let Trump intimidate us. Our neighbors have our back.”
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