Federal agents search Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s home as part of criminal investigation

Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s Washington, DC-area home on Monday morning. The DOJ confirmed agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.

Omar, 44, is a Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota. She represents Minneapolis. The first Somali-American elected to the House, she won her seat in 2018 and, alongside Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, became the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Omar has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and has long been a target of his political attacks, with the president previously suggesting she should “go back” to Somalia and that she should be deported. She heckled Trump during his State of the Union address on February 24.

Fox News first reported the search and linked it to allegations of immigration fraud involving paperwork submitted by Omar’s late father when she was a child. A BBC crew saw several agents at the home, some carrying boxes to a van. No charges have been announced. A DOJ spokesperson said Homeland Security Investigations had executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the department, and that the enforcement action was part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. The DOJ provided no further details. A person familiar with the situation told CNBC the investigation is complex and has been going on for years.

Administration officials publicly previewed the investigation

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in September that there was an ongoing investigation into Omar and her family’s immigration. He told conservative commentator Benny Johnson at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas that “something is going to happen.” Mullin claimed that “she married her brother to try to bring him into the United States,” an allegation that has circulated for years, and said the person “lives now in London.” He added that “there may be more to this, the whole family migration and possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with.” Tom Homan, described by sources as the administration’s border czar, said Omar was being investigated for immigration violations. “We’re pulling the records now,” he said. Vice President JD Vance accused Omar of immigration fraud in a March interview with Johnson, saying “we actually think that Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud,” and discussed investigating her with Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. In December, Trump accused Omar of having “married her brother” and said she “should be thrown the hell out of our country.” At a rally on Saturday, Trump attacked Omar by name. He said “let’s see what happens.” He added that Vance “and our people are looking at it very strongly.” Last week, Trump wrote on social media that Minnesota “is being taken over by Somali immigrants” and urged people to “fight back.”

Omar and Democrats call it political weaponization

Omar condemned the search on social media. “I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” she wrote. She added that “for ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns” and called the raid “the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.” Her communications director, Jacklyn Rogers, called it “an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies.” House Democratic leadership, including Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, and Pete Aguilar, issued a statement calling the raid “deeply disturbing” and questioning “the continued corrupt weaponization of the federal government against Donald Trump’s adversaries.” The statement said that “for years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations” and pledged to “deliver full accountability for the rogue abuse of power.” Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer, a Republican, struck a different tone. “Nobody is above the law,” he said. “ACCOUNTABILITY IS COMING!”

Three weeks before Election Day

The DOJ has a longstanding policy discouraging enforcement actions likely to affect an election or disadvantage a candidate. A person familiar with the raid told CNBC the DOJ does not consider the action to violate that policy because the raid was not meant to be public. The timing is stark. The search comes just over three weeks before the November 3 midterm elections. Omar is running for reelection against Republican John Nagel. The Cook Political Report rates the race “solid Democrat.” She won in 2024 with 74% of the vote. Born in Somalia, she spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp before coming to the United States. She became a U.S. citizen in 2000 at age 17.