Democratic lawmaker and Trump critic Ilhan Omar’s home raided in immigration fraud probe

WASHINGTON – US authorities conducted a predawn raid on Oct 12 on the Washington-area home of Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar as part of an ongoing investigation.

The raid followed a criminal fraud investigation into the Somali-born lawmaker’s immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her late father when she was a child, Fox News Digital reported, citing unidentified sources.

“Today in the Washington, D.C. area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorised search warrant secured by the Department of Justice. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal investigation,” a department spokesman said in an e-mail.

The raid came a little more than three weeks before the Nov 3 midterm elections, when President Donald Trump’s Republicans will be trying to defend their thin majorities in the US Congress.

Omar, a prominent progressive who is running for re-election, represents a safe Democratic district. She was re-elected in 2024 by a margin of 50 percentage points.

Justice Department policy bars federal prosecutors and agents from timing any action to affect the outcome of any election or benefiting a candidate or political party. The department has historically avoided taking investigative steps against political candidates within about 60 days of an election.

Omar has been a frequent target of political insults from Trump, who has cast the Somali American community as a threat to Minnesota in a burst of anti-Somali and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Omar, an outspoken critic of Trump, has called his focus on her an “unhealthy and creepy obsession”.

Last week, Trump called Democratic candidate for US Senate from Michigan Abdul El-Sayed, who is ⁠Muslim, a “RADICAL Extremist” and “Terrorist Sympathizer”, while offering support for the Republican candidate, Mike Rogers.

Civil rights advocates have criticised the Republican president’s rhetoric towards ​minorities and immigrants, including when he previously called Somalis “garbage”.

Trump in February said Omar and Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who is also Muslim, should be “institutionalised” and sent back to “where they came from”.

Both lawmakers criticised Trump during his State of the Union address as he touted his administration’s hard-line immigration crackdown and its immigration enforcement actions.

Omar has repeatedly said she and her family have faced death threats, which she attributes to “hateful political rhetoric”, especially from Trump.

In September, a Minnesota man who squirted vinegar on Omar was sentenced to ​one year and two months in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a federal official.

Anthony James Kazmierczak admitted to attacking Omar because he ​disagreed with her progressive political views. REUTERS