Federal agents on Monday raided the home of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Omar, a Democrat, is currently in a reelection bid. Top Democrats in Congress have already begun questioning the timing of the event in light of the Department of Justice’s longstanding standard has been to not undertake such stringent investigative steps in the run-up to an election.
“For years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations,” said a joint statement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats. “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 Trump administration has been vague about the scope of the investigation, but has a history of targeting its political foes, including the Minnesota representative, who is a Somali-born immigrant.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, in September, said there was an “ongoing investigation” into Omar’s family as it pertains to fraud in relation to immigration paperwork. “Something’s going to happen,” he said.
Omar, on X, said that the search was an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”
“For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she said. “I will not be silenced.”
At a rally later that same day, Trump spoke negatively about Omar and her nationality.
“She’s telling us about the Constitution, and she comes from one of the worst countries anywhere on the planet,” he said. The crowd responded to the remarks by chanting, “Deport.”
Trump has said he had nothing to do with the search. The DHS has referred questions to the Department of Justice. The DOJ has said that HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) executed a judicially authorized search warrant related to an ongoing investigation.
