WASHINGTON
The Trump administration’s investigation into Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is aimed at building a case to revoke her US citizenship and ultimately deport her, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing US officials and other people familiar with the probe.
The investigation is examining how Omar obtained US citizenship after arriving in the country from Somalia decades ago, as well as actions involving her late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, according to the report.
Mohamed brought Omar and other family members to the US from a refugee camp in Kenya in 1995, the newspaper reported.
The investigation has taken multiple directions, with authorities examining the congresswoman’s immigration history and family records, according to people familiar with the matter.
Federal agents searched Omar’s home in Washington, DC early Monday, approximately three weeks before midterm elections in which she is seeking re-election. The Justice Department said the enforcement action “is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.”
Investigators seized several items from the residence, including Omar’s cellphone, notebooks, personal computers and passport, according to people familiar with the search. Omar and her husband were the only people home at the time, said the Journal.
Authorities have also issued more than a dozen subpoenas, including to some of Omar’s relatives, seeking testimony before a federal grand jury in Minnesota, a person familiar with the proceedings told the newspaper.
Omar criticized the federal search at her home Monday, describing the operation as an effort by the Trump administration to intimidate political opponents.
“Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” she wrote on the US social media platform X, confirming her safety while adding “I will not be silenced.”
