Federal agents searched the Washington-area home of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar on Monday, Oct. 12, as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, a major escalation involving one of Congress’s most prominent Black, Muslim and immigrant voices just weeks before the midterm elections.
The Justice Department said Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant in the Washington, D.C., area but did not publicly identify the alleged crime or disclose what evidence investigators were seeking. Agents were seen removing boxes marked as seized evidence, according to The Associated Press.
Reuters, citing a person familiar with the investigation, reported that the inquiry concerns allegations of immigration fraud and includes paperwork completed by Omar’s late father when she was a child. Federal authorities have not charged Omar with a crime, and the execution of a search warrant does not establish guilt.
Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who is seeking a fifth House term on Nov. 3, denied wrongdoing and described the search as political intimidation. “I will not be silenced,” she said in a public statement. Omar has long rejected allegations about her immigration history as false and offensive.
President Donald Trump told reporters he had “nothing to do” with the search and said the matter was up to the Justice Department. But Trump and senior administration officials have repeatedly attacked Omar and publicly discussed an investigation into her family’s immigration records. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said last month that “something’s going to happen” in the inquiry, according to AP and Reuters.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democratic leaders condemned the operation and questioned its proximity to Election Day. Justice Department policy prohibits investigative actions designed to influence an election, and federal law enforcement has historically avoided overt steps involving candidates within roughly 60 days of voting. The policy is an internal safeguard, however, rather than a law that automatically invalidates an investigation.
Omar was born in Somalia, fled the country’s civil war with her family and later became a U.S. citizen. First elected in 2018, she was one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress and the first African refugee to serve in the House.
The investigation remains active, and neither the Justice Department nor Homeland Security has released the warrant, an affidavit outlining probable cause or a timeline for possible next steps.
