Ilhan Omar’s home raided in immigration investigation

Federal authorities raided the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar on Monday morning as part of a criminal investigation of the Minnesota Democrat.

Omar, who has not been charged with a crime, said she was being targeted for political purposes because of her opposition to President Donald Trump.

A person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the non-public investigation, told CNBC that the probe of the 44-year-old congresswoman is complex and has been going on for years.

MS NOW reported that a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the raid — which comes weeks before November’s midterm election — said the investigation into Omar is based on allegations of fraud.

Fox News, which first reported the raid, cited a source familiar with the probe as saying it is focused on her immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her father when she emigrated to the U.S. with him from Somalia as a child.

Homeland Security Investigations, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, conducted the raid. HSI investigators were seen outside Omar’s home in the Northeast quadrant of Washington throughout the morning.

Omar, who is seeking reelection, has been a target of criticism by Trump for years. She heckled the president during his State of the Union address to Congress on Feb. 24, which came on the heels of aggressive immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis by federal authorities.

Omar, who is deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, blasted the raid and the investigation in a post on X on Monday.

“I’m ok,” Omar wrote.

“Make no mistake: this is 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 wrote.

“I will not be silenced.”

Omar became a U.S. citizen in 2000 at 17. She was elected to Congress in November 2018 to represent Minnesota’s 5th District, which includes all of Minneapolis.

She and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., became the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.

The Department of Justice, in a statement to CNBC when asked about the raid, said, “Today in the Washington, D.C., area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice.”

“This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal investigation,” the statement said.

Omar’s spokeswoman, Jacklyn Rogers, in a statement said, “This raid by Trump’s DHS is an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies.”

“For a decade, Donald Trump has relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly putting a target on her back,” Rogers said. “Now, those attacks have escalated to a pointless federal raid. The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong. No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies.”

In September, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told right-wing commentator Benny Johnson at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas that DHS was investigating issues around Omar and her family’s immigration to the United States.

“There may be more to this, the whole family migration and possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with,” said Mullin. He said the investigation could end with deportations.

The DOJ, for years, has had a policy regarding the announcement and initiation of federal investigations and prosecutions close to elections. The policy discourages beginning an investigation, taking investigative steps, bringing criminal charges, or making public statements for the purpose of affecting an election or to give a candidate an advantage or disadvantage.

A person familiar with the raid on Omar’s home told CNBC on Monday that the DOJ does not consider that action to violate the policy because the raid was not meant to be public.

Republican John Nagel is running against Omar in a race the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates “solid Democrat.” The general election is just over three weeks away on Nov. 3.

The Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives blasted the Trump administration for the raid.

“The Trump administration’s raid on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s home is deeply disturbing and raises serious questions about the continued corrupt weaponization of the federal government against Donald Trump’s adversaries,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the Democratic Caucus Chair, in a statement.

“For years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations,” the statement said. “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 American people deserve transparency, and we will deliver full accountability for the rogue abuse of power from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice.”