Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, DC, home on Monday, October 12, 2026, as they investigated her family’s immigration records. The search put Immigration Fraud allegations at the center of a federal inquiry into her route to citizenship.
Agents took her personal cell phone and passport, as well as computers, cameras and notebooks. Boxes marked “Seized Property Evidence” were also removed.
Omar disputed reports that investigators collected her DNA. “I would have seen if they did take anything that contained DNA,” she said.
Prosecutors issued more than a dozen subpoenas, including to at least one relative. One person familiar with the matter said a sister spoke voluntarily with agents.
A person familiar with the case said the sealed warrant identified conspiracy, false statements on immigration paperwork and immigration fraud as potential crimes under investigation. A coalition of 14 news organizations, including Reuters, asked a federal judge on Thursday to unseal records tied to the search.
Investigators are examining Omar’s age and citizenship paperwork
The investigation focuses on documents submitted after Omar and her family arrived as Somali refugees. Investigators are examining whether relatives provided false information when entering the United States or later seeking citizenship.
Omar’s office says she was born on October 4, 1982, in Mogadishu, Somalia. She fled with her father and six siblings as civil war spread. In her memoir, she wrote that they escaped “flying bullets overhead and starvation-level food shortages.”
The family spent time in a refugee camp in Kenya before arriving in the United States in 1995. Omar was 12. They first settled in Arlington, Virginia, then moved to Minneapolis. Refugees can become eligible to apply for citizenship five years after arrival.
Omar has said she became a citizen through her father’s naturalization case in 2000, when she was 17. Investigators are examining whether he listed her as 17 rather than 18 on immigration paperwork. The inquiry considers whether she was already an adult, which could have made her ineligible for derivative citizenship through a parent.
Investigators are also examining whether her late father lied or left information off immigration forms, and whether relatives later conspired to conceal facts that could have affected petitions. Several relatives, including her sister Sahra Noor, received subpoenas to appear before a federal grand jury in Minnesota. Grand jurors hear testimony under oath as they assess whether evidence supports an indictment.
A previous review and old marriage claims form part of the background
Homeland Security officials reviewed Omar’s immigration history during Trump’s first term after a political appointee sought evidence of possible fraud. The review examined her family’s refugee history, questions about her birth date, her father’s military service in Somalia and allegations about her marriage.
One former official said the review found “insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.” Another official familiar with it said: “I think her citizenship is solid and there wasn't any fraud there.”
Omar has also faced speculation since 2016 that she married her brother. No proof emerged to support the claim. In 2018, she showed a reporter images of documents from her family’s entry into the United States. They listed her as the youngest of seven children, and did not include Ahmed Nur Said Elmi’s name.
Omar told MS NOW that Elmi was her second husband and that they married in a Christian ceremony on February 12, 2009. Their marriage certificate listed him as three years younger than Omar. She answered “Not to my knowledge” when asked whether they were related, and said the rumor began “with a Somali blog” before “right-wing conspiracy theorists got a hold of it.” They separated in 2011 and finalized their divorce in 2017. The Obama administration declined to investigate the allegation at the time.
No charges have been filed as officials discuss citizenship revocation
No criminal charges have been filed. One person familiar with the investigation said a possible aim could be to strip Omar of her citizenship and deport her, outcomes President Donald Trump and his homeland security chief have publicly raised.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said weeks before the search that investigators had found “some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with.” He added: “If we can prove that you shouldn't have been here in the first place, we'll deport you.”
Border czar Tom Homan said Omar could be deported if investigators prove immigration fraud. “I'm not going to get ahead of the bureau or HSI, but I've been told they have a strong case, and we'll let the evidence lead where it leads,” he said.
Trump denied directing the investigation. “I think she's a terrible person,” he told reporters. “But that's really up to the DOJ (Justice Department). I have nothing to do with it.” At an Ohio rally, he criticized Omar’s Somali origins as the crowd shouted “deport.” On Tuesday, Trump said: “You know, they keep talking about deportation. No, she could go to jail.”
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the case but said citizenship “must be obtained lawfully and honestly.” The department said it would investigate cases where facts support denaturalization, the legal process for revoking citizenship acquired after birth.
Kerry Doyle, a former deputy general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security during the Biden administration, described denaturalization cases as rare. “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,” Doyle said. Former immigration officials said search warrants are unusual in such cases because the government should already hold relevant immigration records.
A financial inquiry and election rules add separate pressure
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said her office is investigating Omar’s financial disclosures alongside the immigration inquiry. “There are several investigations going on,” she said.
The financial investigation concerns disclosures tied to two companies in which her husband, Timothy Mynett, held ownership stakes. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chair James Comer said the companies’ value “unexplainably surged” between 2023 and 2024.
Omar has represented a Minnesota district since 2019 and is seeking reelection on November 3. The search took place during the final weeks of her campaign.
Justice Department policy generally avoids investigative steps that could influence an election within 60 days, particularly when evidence can be collected after voters cast ballots. Courts have ruled that federal authorities cannot review material related to a member of Congress’s legislative acts.
Omar calls the investigation political as the election approaches
Omar rejected the inquiry as an effort to “target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.” Her spokesperson said: “Trump has spread lie after lie about the Congresswoman in a desperate attempt to justify his extraordinary abuse of power,” and called the investigation “politically motivated” and an escalation of Trump’s “personal vendetta against her lasting over a decade.”
Her office called the search an “unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies.” It also said: “No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies.”
The November 3 election is the next dated event in Omar’s public calendar as the investigation continues.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
