A predawn raid on Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar’s home by federal agents stemmed from an expanding investigation into her US immigration paperwork, three people familiar with the case said this week.
Like the other people, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The sealed warrant for Monday’s search listed conspiracy, false statements on immigration paperwork and immigration fraud as potential crimes being investigated, one of the people familiar with the matter said. One of the people familiar with the probe told Reuters that one potential aim could be to strip Omar of her US citizenship and deport her, ideas that both President Donald Trump and his Homeland Security chief have floated.
The targeting of a left-wing member of Congress whom Trump has long attacked in personal and bigoted terms has renewed concerns that his administration is using federal law enforcement to punish his political opponents, especially three weeks before an election when Omar is running to retain her seat.
But in a statement, the spokesperson said that US citizenship “must be obtained lawfully and honestly” and the Trump administration would investigate any case where the facts support denaturalization, the legal process of revoking citizenship that was acquired after birth. Former immigration officials said denaturalization investigations have historically been rare, and it is extremely unusual for them to involve search warrants, as the government should already have the relevant immigration records. “Most of the denaturalization cases that we engaged in related either to very serious international human rights violations, or very serious crimes, such as Nazi war criminals,” said Kerry Doyle, a former deputy general counsel in the Department of Homeland Security during the Biden administration.
