Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C.-area residence was searched early Monday morning, a Division of Justice spokesperson stated, as a part of an ongoing prison investigation.
Sources inform ABC Information that the investigation pertains to Omar’s immigration paperwork. Omar, who was first elected to the Home in 2018, is the primary Somali-American in Congress.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., takes questions throughout a information convention on the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 13, 2026.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Picture
In current historical past, the Justice Division’s apply has been to advise prosecutors to not take any overt investigative steps in opposition to members of Congress or candidates inside 60 days of an election. The midterm elections, throughout which Omar is up for reelection, happen in 22 days, with early voting beginning in Minnesota later this week.
Omar got here to the U.S. as a refugee when she was a toddler and has been residing within the nation since she was 12 years previous. She is a U.S. citizen.
“Immediately within the Washington, D.C. space, Homeland Safety Investigations executed a judicially licensed search warrant secured by the Division of Justice,” a DOJ spokesperson stated. “This enforcement motion is a part of an ongoing federal prison investigation.”
It is unclear whether or not Omar was at her D.C.-area residence on the time of Monday’s search. Omar’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the search or her whereabouts.
A Homeland Safety officer walks alongside twenty sixth Avenue NE in Washington, Oct. 12, 2026, throughout an investigation on the residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar.
AP
Omar, who represents Minnesota’s fifth Congressional District, has been a central political goal for the administration and its broader efforts to solid the Somali group as prison and un-American.
“How about Ilhan Omar? She comes from Somalia. She comes from Somalia. They do not have a authorities. They do not have police. They do not. All they’ve is crime and squalor. And he or she comes into our nation, and he or she says, ‘My structure permits me.’ She’s speaking about our structure, what they’ve completed to Minnesota, these folks from Somalia, what they’ve completed to Minnesota, ought to by no means be allowed. And let’s examine what occurs. JD Vance and our persons are it very strongly,” Trump stated throughout a rally on Saturday.
In social media posts earlier this yr, Trump additionally stated Omar “ought to be in jail” and “despatched again to Somalia.”
Homeland Safety officers stroll down twenty sixth Avenue NE in Washington, Oct. 12, 2026, throughout an investigation on the residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Picture
Trump’s remarks directed at Omar have drawn criticism, and Omar said earlier this year that Trump’s rhetoric has led threats in opposition to her to “skyrocket.”
The White Home referred all remark requests to the Division of Justice.
Vice President JD Vance, who the administration has tasked with main the so-called “anti-fraud efforts” stated throughout a White Home briefing in Might that the administration was going to look into Omar for immigration fraud allegations.
Omar has beforehand denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a criminal offense.
Final month, White Home border czar Tom Homan confirmed in an interview with Fox Information that the Division of Homeland Safety was wanting into Omar, however would not disclose the extent of these allegations noting that it was a part of an “ongoing prison investigation.”
