Trump administration investigates Ilhan Omar's citizenship status

Investigators have subpoenaed relatives and examined immigration records, according to The Wall Street Journal. The administration of US President Donald Trump is investigating Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to revoke her citizenship and potentially deport her, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing US officials and sources familiar with the investigation. The inquiry focuses on how the Minnesota representative obtained citizenship after arriving in the US as a refugee from Somalia. Authorities are reviewing her family’s immigration records and have issued over a dozen subpoenas, including to some of her relatives, seeking testimony before a grand jury in Minnesota. Omar’s office has dismissed the investigation as baseless in comments to the Journal. This report follows a recent raid by US federal agents on Omar’s home, which her office described as an “unprecedented escalation” by the Trump administration against political opponents. The search occurred weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, which are significant for Republicans aiming to maintain control of Congress. Omar is campaigning for a fifth term representing Minnesota’s 5th congressional district. The Department of Homeland Security stated that the raid was part of “an ongoing federal investigation.” Agents reportedly seized Omar’s passport, mobile phone, personal computers, and notebooks during the search. Omar arrived in the US in 1995 after living in a refugee camp in Kenya and became a citizen in 2000. She has previously denied any allegations of immigration fraud. The citizenship inquiry examines whether Omar or her late father altered her age in immigration paperwork to indicate she was 17 instead of 18 when her father applied for citizenship. Investigators are assessing if this allowed her to acquire citizenship through her father without undergoing a separate application process. Omar’s father passed away in 2020, complicating the collection of evidence regarding whether Omar misrepresented her age or if her father did so on her behalf. The Journal noted that Homeland Security Investigations officials looked into a similar allegation during former President Joe Biden's administration but did not pursue it due to insufficient evidence of fraud. The report did not indicate that anyone had filed a lawsuit to revoke Omar’s citizenship, as such a case would necessitate court proceedings, and the investigation itself does not revoke her citizenship or authorize her deportation. Additionally, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog had previously cleared Omar of wrongdoing concerning disclosures that overstated her assets. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), part of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), executed the search of Omar’s home under a “judicially authorized search warrant.” On Monday morning, agents cordoned off the street around Omar’s residence and removed boxes labeled “Seized Property Evidence.” Omar, a prominent progressive Democrat, has faced ongoing criticism from Trump and his supporters regarding her Somali background and immigration history. Following the raid, Trump stated he had “nothing to do” with the search, emphasizing that it was “really up to the DOJ [Justice Department].”