Ilhan Omar home raid sparks online firestorm: ‘This is what authoritarians do’

Democratic lawmakers erupted online on Monday after news that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had raided the Washington-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., blasting the development as an effort by President Donald Trump to intimidate a longtime political adversary.

“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,” U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement.

The Justice Department confirmed that agents of Homeland Security Investigations, ICE’s investigative arm, executed a court-authorized search warrant as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. Two sources close to the investigation say the search stems from a criminal fraud investigation into the Somali-born congresswoman’s immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her late father when she was a child.

The Minnesota Democrat has repeatedly denied allegations of immigration fraud and claims that she is in the country unlawfully.

FEDERAL AGENTS RAID ILHAN OMAR’S DC HOME AMID IMMIGRATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION

To Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a fellow member of the progressive group known as the “Squad,” the development is a clearly personal one.

“Donald Trump has been obsessed with Rep. Omar. He has gone after her repeatedly, causing her severe harm and going after the entire Somali American population,” Jayapal said, referencing Trump’s wariness of Somali fraud rings in Minnesota that became a national focus earlier this year.

“This is his way of bullying his way back into power. This is what authoritarians do,” Jayapal added.

Democrats online similarly observed the immigration-related focus of the raid, affirming Omar’s status as a citizen of the U.S.

HOMAN CONFIRMS ‘CRIMINAL’ INVESTIGATION INVOLVING ILHAN OMAR, SAYS HE KNOWS ‘THINGS ARE GOING ON’

“This raid on Rep. Omar’s home is an outrageous abuse of power by ICE. Rep. Omar has been a U.S. citizen for 26 years. She came to the United States as a child and was legally admitted as a refugee,” Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., wrote.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., echoed Lieu.

“Ilhan Omar came to America legally as a child refugee fleeing civil war, became a citizen and was elected to Congress. Trump is weaponizing the federal government to silence opposition,” Sanders said in a post to X.

But Republicans pointed out that the public hasn’t had an opportunity to review the details of Omar’s naturalization paperwork either — something that Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said she had wanted to see for herself but was blocked from using congressional authority to secure.

“I tried to subpoena Ilhan Omar and her brother-husband’s immigration records. Both parties blocked it in Oversight,” Mace wrote, referring to the powerful oversight committee, the body of lawmakers charged with ensuring the government lawfully carries out its duties. “If the fraud is proven, she should be denaturalized and deported home to Somalia.”

Omar has faced long-standing political pressure stemming from her previous marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009, a marriage that critics claim was to her biological brother in order to commit immigration fraud. Omar has denied that Elmi is her brother, and no charges related to that marriage have been brought against her. Omar and Elmi divorced in 2017.

Additionally, Mace pointed out that accusations of politically motivated investigations mirror the raid on Trump’s personal residence in Florida in 2022.

“All those who celebrated the raid of Mar-a-Lago don’t get to cry over the raid at Ilhan Omar’s home. Trump’s political enemy raided his home. Democrats set the precedent,” she added.

Other Republicans, like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., argued that the moment has highlighted the need to especially scrutinize the citizenship credentials of lawmakers before they arrive in office — calls shared by other fellow members.

“If these allegations are true, then it needs to be dealt with legally. But ultimately, this is exactly why myself, members like Kat Kammack and Randy Fine have pushed for there to be a disclosure at least for people to know whether members of Congress are dual citizens,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said in an interview with Fox News.

Fine agreed.

“If Ilhan Omar lied on her immigration paperwork, she should be denaturalized and deported — the same as anyone else. No more special treatment,” Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., said.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., didn’t speculate as to why the ICE raid had taken place, but quickly affirmed his view that even lawmakers could be subject to scrutiny.

“Nobody is above the law. HSI just executed a search warrant at Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C. home. We look forward to learning more details about this raid and investigation. ACCOUNTABILITY IS COMING!” Emmer wrote.

Notably, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., as of Tuesday morning, had not issued a statement on the raid on Omar’s residence. Neither had Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Republicans in Congress have investigated Omar in the past, evaluating her net worth and the business ties of her husband, Tim Mynett.

“Trump is grossly abusing his power to raid the home of Rep. Omar,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a fellow member of the progressive group called the Squad, said in a post to X on Monday.

“He has repeatedly attacked her, Somali Americans and Minnesotans. [Omar] has done nothing to justify a pre-dawn raid ahead of the election. I stand with my sister always.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., another Squad member, agreed in a post of her own.

“For years, the Trump admin has launched slanderous attacks against Rep. Omar. This morning, the administration sent federal officials to raid her home. We cannot and will not accept this unprecedented abuse of power,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

OMAR’S NEW LEGISLATION TARGETING ICE SPARKS OUTRAGE WHEN THE INTERNET SEES WHAT’S IN IT: ‘UN-AMERICAN’

“Trump and his DOJ have a bizarre obsession with tearing down Minnesota, our leaders and our communities. This latest action, even as voting has already started in Minnesota, is a transparent attempt to interfere in our election,” Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., said.

The raid comes less than a month before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. According to the Minnesota secretary of state website, absentee voting by mail and in person began Sept. 18, while the state’s new early voting process, which allows voters to cast ballots directly into voting machines, begins Friday.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The office of Ilhan Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.