Federal agents searched the Washington-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., early Monday under a court-authorized warrant. A Justice Department spokesperson said Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the department as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. The department’s statement did not name Omar or describe the case. White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed that a judge signed the warrant and that the Justice Department is leading the investigation with the Department of Homeland Security. No charges connected to the search had been publicly announced as of Tuesday.
Reuters, citing one person familiar with the investigation, reported that it relates to alleged immigration fraud and that part of it concerns paperwork Omar’s late father filled out when she was a child. CBS News, citing sources familiar with the case, reported that investigators are examining potential false statements and immigration fraud. Neither report establishes that Omar or anyone else committed a crime.
Omar called the search “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.” President Donald Trump said he had nothing to do with the search and that the matter was up to the Justice Department.
The birth-year record. Omar has said she became a citizen in 2000, at 17, through her father’s naturalization. An archived 2019 version of her Minnesota Legislative Reference Library biography listed her birth date as October 4, 1981; the library’s current record lists October 4, 1982. In 2019, Omar’s congressional staff asked the library to change the year, according to an email obtained by NewsNation. Where the earlier date originated has not been publicly established. Critics, including former congressional candidate AJ Kern, argue it is inconsistent with Omar’s account. A biographical listing does not show which date appears in immigration records, and investigators have not said whether her birth date is at issue.
Before February 27, 2001, a child born abroad could derive citizenship through a parent only if specific conditions in the law then in effect were met. Those conditions included a qualifying parent’s naturalization, the parent naturalizing while the child was under 18, and the child residing in the United States as a lawful permanent resident. No public record yet establishes when Omar’s father naturalized or how those conditions were documented in her case.
A separate inquiry. On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro of the District of Columbia said on Fox News that her office is also investigating Omar’s financial disclosures. Axios described Monday’s search as part of a separate immigration probe, and no connection between the two has been disclosed. In September, the board of the Office of Congressional Conduct voted 5-1 to recommend that the House Ethics Committee dismiss allegations related to those disclosures, according to news reports on the confidential report, including the Minnesota Star Tribune. The recommendation is not binding and is not a criminal finding.
Timing. The search came 22 days before the November 3 midterm elections. House Democratic leaders condemned it as an abuse of power. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said Omar should face denaturalization and removal if fraud is proven. Longstanding Justice Department policy bars selecting the timing of investigative steps to affect an election. NPR reported, citing anonymous sources, that senior department officials approved the search, and CBS reported that the department’s Public Integrity Section was consulted. Such consultation alone establishes neither compliance with the policy nor a violation of it.
Authorities have not publicly identified the alleged false statements, disclosed the immigration records supporting the inquiry, or explained Omar’s status in the investigation.
Earlier coverage: Federal Agents Search Ilhan Omar’s Home as Immigration Fraud Allegations Face New Scrutiny (Oct. 12)
Featured photo: Rep. Ilhan Omar, official portrait, 116th Congress. U.S. House Office of Photography / Kristie Boyd. Public domain.