Federal Agents Search Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Home in Criminal Probe Weeks Before Midterms

Federal agents searched the Washington-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar early Monday, the Justice Department confirmed, a dramatic escalation in a long-simmering criminal investigation of the Minnesota Democrat that comes three weeks before she faces voters in the November midterm elections.

Agents from Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, executed what the Justice Department described as a “judicially authorized search warrant” secured by the department. “This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation,” a department spokesperson said, declining to provide further details.

Omar, the first Somali American elected to Congress and one of President Donald Trump’s most frequent political targets, said she was unharmed and cast the search as political retaliation. “Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” she wrote on social media. “I will not be silenced.”

Pre-dawn operation

A neighbor who lives across the street told NPR that agents arrived around 4:30 a.m. with a large truck and woke her with loud knocking. Several HSI agents were later seen moving around the property.

The scope of the inquiry remains unclear. A current federal official told NPR the search is part of a multi-year probe that includes whistleblower complaints, while a former official previously briefed on the matter said it concerns allegations of immigration fraud. Omar has denied wrongdoing.

White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed the operation in a Fox News interview. “I can confirm that a search warrant was executed this morning, signed by a judge,” he said, adding that the Justice Department was leading the investigation alongside DHS. He declined to discuss specifics or get ahead of Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Months of public hints

Administration officials have signaled for months that Omar was under scrutiny. Vice President JD Vance, who leads the administration’s self-described anti-fraud effort, said at a White House briefing in May that officials would examine immigration fraud allegations against her.

Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin pointed to an “ongoing investigation” that appeared to center on her family’s immigration paperwork. Asked whether anything would come of it, he replied: “Something’s going to happen.”

The search came two days after Trump, speaking at a campaign rally in Tennessee, disparaged Omar’s country of origin as a place of “crime and squalor” and suggested that Vance “and our people” were looking into her.

Democrats allege election-season weaponization

House Democratic leaders, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, called the raid “deeply disturbing” in a joint statement and said it raised “serious questions about the continued corrupt weaponization of the federal government” against the president’s adversaries.

“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,” the leaders said, vowing to “deliver full accountability for the rogue abuse of power” at DHS and the Justice Department.

Omar’s spokesperson, Jackie Rogers, described the search as “an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement.” Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois called it “an absolute abuse of power,” and California Gov. Gavin Newsom said it was “straight out of the authoritarian playbook.”

Timing tests long-standing norms

The timing has drawn particular scrutiny. The Justice Department has historically avoided overt investigative steps involving candidates in the weeks immediately before an election, a practice intended to keep law enforcement from influencing voters. Omar is on the ballot for reelection in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District on Nov. 3.

No charges have been announced, and the Justice Department has not said what agents were seeking or whether anything was seized.

Update — Oct. 13, 2026: Trump attacks Omar; Vance says he had no warning

A day after the search, President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on Omar as he left the White House on Tuesday. Asked whether he wanted to see her deported, he said: “I don’t take a position. I think she’s a terrible person. I think she’s a terrible congresswoman. I don’t think she loves our country at all, but I don’t take a position.” At a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, the previous night, he called her a “disaster.” Omar, who was born in Somalia, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000. It is not clear whether deportation is under consideration.

Sources told ABC News that the investigation relates to Omar’s immigration paperwork. She has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged.

Vice President JD Vance told reporters he “did not have advance notice that her home was being raided,” saying he and the president “largely try to stay out of Department of Justice investigations.” He added: “If there’s a real case there, we’re going to follow the facts. If there’s not a real case there, then we won’t.” House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News that “we have to reserve judgment and let the system play out,” acknowledging that “maybe the timing’s unfortunate.”

Justice Department practice in recent decades has been to advise prosecutors against overt investigative steps involving candidates within roughly 60 days of an election.

Update — Oct. 14, 2026: Probe focuses on birth date and citizenship papers

The investigation behind Monday’s search centers on allegations that Omar or her late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, may have misstated information on decades-old immigration paperwork used to secure legal status and, eventually, her citizenship, The Washington Post reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. Agents are said to be focused in particular on whether her birth date was misstated so that she would qualify to derive citizenship through her father as a minor when he was naturalized in 2000, and on whether he omitted details of past military service. Mohamed died in 2020.

The search warrant listed potential charges of conspiracy, immigration fraud and false statements, according to a person familiar with the document, and some family members have received grand jury subpoenas. The inquiry could lead to fraud charges or a criminal or civil effort to strip Omar of her citizenship. According to the Post, Homeland Security Investigations had previously declined to pursue a probe based on similar allegations before reopening her file earlier this year.

Separately, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told Fox News that her office is examining Omar’s financial disclosure forms, which last year listed assets of $6 million to $30 million before being amended to $18,000 to $95,000 in what Omar called an accounting error. A House ethics watchdog voted last month to dismiss misconduct allegations over the filing. Trump responded on social media: “America wants answers, and we want them, NOW!”

Omar has called the allegations “baseless lies and smear campaigns.” She has not been charged.

Update — Oct. 18, 2026: Homan raises denaturalization; Obama rallies to Omar

Asked on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show” on Saturday whether the investigation could lead to Omar being denaturalized and deported, Tom Homan, the White House border czar, replied, “Of course.” He added that “if you lie during the naturalization process, there is a process to denaturalize somebody,” describing it as “a long, tedious process” that has been used before. Homan said he had been told investigators “have a strong case” but declined to discuss specifics, and when asked about possible wrongdoing beyond immigration fraud, said, “I know things, but that’s a question for the FBI.”

The comments were the first by a named senior administration official explicitly linking the Omar inquiry to denaturalization and deportation, The Guardian reported. The probe concerns allegations that Omar was 18, rather than 17, when her father was naturalized in 2000, which would have meant she could not automatically derive citizenship through him as a minor.

On Sunday, former President Barack Obama wrote on X that “the full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president,” and urged Americans of all political views to defend her. “If this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her,” he wrote. Omar denies wrongdoing and has not been charged.