US immigration agents on Monday searched the home of Ilhan Omar, a democratic member of the House of Representatives.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Justice told the BBC
that agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a judicially
authorised search warrant at the property in the Washington, DC, area, as part
of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
The spokesperson did not provide further details about the
investigation.
Meanwhile, Jacklyn Rogers, Omar’s communications director,
condemned the operation in a statement, describing it as an abuse of power and
an attempt to weaponise federal law enforcement against political opponents.
“The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong. No president
should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his
political enemies,” the statement reads.
The BBC reported that its crew saw several agents at the
lawmaker’s residence, some carrying boxes to a van. However, they could not
confirm whether Omar was at home during the search.
Fox News first reported the search, saying the congresswoman
was being investigated over immigration paperwork filed by her late father when
she was a child.
The search comes amid renewed scrutiny of Omar’s immigration
history and previous allegations against her by Republican politicians.
Last month, Markwayne Mullin, US Secretary of Homeland Security, told a conservative podcaster that “something is going to happen”,
while making allegations of marital fraud against the congresswoman.
Tom Homan, the White House border czar, also told Fox News
that Omar was being investigated for unspecified immigration violations.
Omar denied the allegations last month, describing the
investigations as baseless.
Earlier this year, Nancy Mace, a Republican representative
from South Carolina, unsuccessfully sought a subpoena for Omar’s immigration
records.
Omar, who was born in Somalia, arrived in the US at the age
of 12 after spending four years in a refugee camp in Kenya.
She was first elected to Congress in 2018, becoming the
first Somali-American to serve in the US house of representatives.
She and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan also became the first
Muslim women elected to the chamber.
Omar represents a district in the Minneapolis area and won
re-election in 2024 with 74 percent of the vote.
She is seeking another term in the November midterm
elections, which will determine the balance of power in Congress for the next
two years.
The timing of Monday’s search, less than a month before the
election, could intensify concerns among Democrats over the use of federal law
enforcement against political opponents.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Omar,
previously suggesting she should return to Somalia and calling for her
deportation.
Omar has described the president’s attacks as an “unhealthy
and creepy obsession”.
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