Rep. Ilhan Omar decries DHS search on home as 'political intimidation'
President Trump has long targeted the progressive congresswoman, including by attacking her ethnicity and religion.
WASHINGTON – Federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar's home on Oct. 12, according to the congresswoman's office and an official familiar with the matter.
Homeland Security Investigations agents conducted the early-morning raid at the Democrat's DC-area residence. The purpose for the search wasn't immediately clear, but top Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, have long accused the Minnesota lawmaker, who was born in Somalia and immigrated to the United States as a child refugee, of immigration fraud, which she denies.
In critics' eyes, the raid marked a significant escalation of President Donald Trump's efforts to target his political opponents using the federal law enforcement apparatus, though he told reporters he had no involvement in the raid. It also dramatically intensified his yearslong feud with Omar, a progressive Muslim whose religion and ethnicity Trump has frequently attacked.
The Department of Homeland Security referred USA TODAY to the Justice Department for comment. In a statement, the DOJ confirmed Homeland Security Investigations had "executed a judicially authorized search warrant" at a Washington-area home as "part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation."
Omar characterized the search as "just the latest in (Trump's) campaign of political intimidation."
"I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement," she wrote on social media, later writing: "I will not be silenced."
House Democratic leadership, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, called the raid "deeply disturbing" in a joint statement.
"For years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations," they said. "Now, less than 30 days until the midterm election, his violent mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family."
Who is Ilhan Omar?
Omar was elected in President Trump’s first term during a blue wave in 2018. She was an original member of the progressive group dubbed the "Squad," which also included Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib. She became the first Somali American in Congress.
She also immediately drew Trump's ire. In July 2019, the summer after she won her House seat, a North Carolina campaign rally crowd chanted "send her back" after Trump repeatedly criticized the congresswoman. Earlier this year, in January, Trump without evidence accused Omar of staging a town hall attack during which an attendee sprayed her with apple cider vinegar.
Omar has drawn controversy on her own, too. In 2019, she sparked bipartisan backlash for now-deleted tweets about Israel that sparked claims of antisemitism.
Her marriage history has also been a subject of scrutiny, dating back to her time as a state lawmaker. Online Minnesota court and marriage records show Omar was married to Ahmed Elmi in February 2009 before their divorce in December 2017. She then married Ahmed Hirsi, the father of her three children, in January 2018.
In 2016, she told Minnesota Public Radio she was legally married and physically separated from another man (seemingly Elmi) who was living in England but married Hirsi in a Muslim ceremony. She told MPR that it was "a difficult part of my personal history that I did not consider relevant in the context of a political campaign."
She legally divorced Hirsi in November 2019. She married lobbyist Tim Mynett in March 2020.