Federal agents search Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's home weeks before midterms
Homeland Security Investigations agents searched the Washington-area home of Ilhan Omar on Monday, 12 October, in a federal criminal investigation tied to documents connected with her family's 2000 US citizenship.
The search at her home
Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, searched the Washington-area home of Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar early on Monday, 12 October 2026. A Justice Department spokesperson said the agents executed a judicially approved search warrant as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation, but gave no further detail about its subject. It was not known whether Omar was at the house during the search. The operation came 22 days before the 3 November midterm elections, in which Omar, a 44-year-old Democrat from Minnesota, is seeking a fifth term in the House of Representatives.
What the investigation is reported to examine
According to US media reports cited in the coverage, the inquiry concerns the circumstances under which Omar and her family obtained US citizenship in 2000. The focus is reportedly on the immigration documents filed at that time by her father, who has since died, when she was a child. Reuters sources, as cited by SKAI, said authorities were examining possible fraud in immigration documents related to the family's arrival in the United States. In September, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced an inquiry into how her family entered the country, and Tom Homan, the Trump administration's border czar, confirmed that an investigation of Omar was under way without specifying the suspicions. Homan confirmed the warrant's execution to Fox News on Monday. No criminal charges have been announced, and Omar has rejected the allegations, calling the probes 'frauds'.
- Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announces an inquiry into how Omar's family entered the US
- HSI agents execute a search warrant at Omar's Washington-area home
- Midterm elections, in which Omar is seeking a fifth term
Omar's response and Democratic reaction
Omar wrote on social media that Trump had targeted her for ten years with baseless lies and smear campaigns, that the search was the latest escalation of a political intimidation campaign, and that she would not be silenced. Her office called the search an outrageous abuse of power and an escalation in the use of federal law enforcement against political opponents. Her communications director, Jacklyn Rogers, said the congresswoman had not done anything illegal. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called the action deeply troubling and accused Trump's deportation machine of arbitrary abuse of power against an elected lawmaker. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accused the president of using the state apparatus to strike political rivals. Michigan Representative Debbie Dingell wrote that Trump had repeatedly targeted Omar with hate rhetoric, contributing to death threats and violence. Many have criticized the search as a breach of an informal Justice Department practice of avoiding such inquiries within 60 days of an election.
Trump's remarks
At a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Trump called Omar an awful person and made disparaging remarks about Somalia, her country of origin. The crowd responded by chanting 'deport her, deport her'. Trump urged supporters to vote on 3 November so that Ohio would not be plundered, as he said Minnesota had been. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said he understood the matter was being looked at very carefully. He added that he had always considered Omar totally corrupt, but that the case was a matter for the Justice Department and had nothing to do with him. Republican Representative Nancy Mace was among the few congressional Republicans to comment publicly on the search.
What comes next
Congress has halted its work for now, and the reports give no timetable for the investigation. The search lands in the final weeks before the midterm elections, in which Omar is one of the administration's most vocal critics. Democrats argue the case shows an abuse of power, while Trump has maintained a hard line against her. The Justice Department has not said what the investigation concerns, and no charges have been announced in the reports available.
