▶ Watch Video: Ilhan Omar raid concerns immigration paperwork from when she was a child, sources say
Rep. Ilhan Omar‘s Washington, D.C., home was the target of a raid early Monday morning by ICE’s investigations unit.
Sources say the investigation centers on Omar’s immigration paperwork. The documents in question date back to Omar’s childhood, involving paperwork completed by her late father when she was a child.
Omar’s office said in a statement that Omar had “done nothing wrong” and called the raid an “outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies.”
Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, posted Monday on social media, “I’m ok,” adding “I will not be silenced.”
“Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” Omar wrote. “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.”
Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, the department’s criminal investigative arm, is leading the investigation, with the Department of Justice assisting.
Investigators are examining potential allegations of false statements and immigration fraud, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Attorney General Todd Blanche was personally aware of the search, with the Justice Department consulting its Public Integrity section, sources said.
HSI has jurisdiction over federal offenses including immigration document fraud, identity fraud and immigration benefit fraud. Unlike ICE’s deportation-focused operations, HSI special agents conduct criminal investigations and execute federal search warrants.
In a statement, the Justice Department confirmed that the HSI executed a search warrant secured by the DOJ. The statement said it was “part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whip Rep. Katherine Clark and caucus chair Rep. Pete Aguilar called the raid on Omar’s home “deeply disturbing” and said it “raises serious questions about the continued corrupt weaponization of the federal government against Donald Trump’s adversaries.”
Omar is a frequent target of President Trump. The president told reporters he “had nothing to do with” Monday’s raid.
“I think she’s a terrible person, but that’s really up to the DOJ,” he said.
Border czar Tom Homan said in September that there was an “ongoing criminal investigation” into the congresswoman.
“I’m confirming that ICE is, yeah — look, I said months ago that there’s something that’s been reported and needs to be looked at,” Homan told Fox News in September.
Omar said at the time that she had not been contacted in connection to any investigation.
