Federal Agents Search Ilhan Omar's Washington Home in Pre-Election Criminal Probe

US Homeland Security Investigations agents carried out a court-authorised search of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's residence in the Washington, DC area on Monday morning, according to a Justice Department spokesperson who confirmed the operation to the BBC.

The spokesperson described the search as part of "an ongoing federal criminal investigation" but declined to provide any further detail about its scope or subject matter. The warrant was issued by a judge, officials said, meaning law enforcement had to satisfy a court that there was probable cause before entering the property.

A BBC reporting team at the scene observed several agents outside the Minnesota Democrat's home, with some of them carrying boxes out to a waiting van. Congress is not currently sitting, and it remains unclear whether Omar herself was present when agents arrived.

The nature of the investigation has not been officially disclosed. Fox News, which first reported news of the search, said it concerns immigration paperwork submitted by Omar's late father at a time when she was a child. That claim has not been corroborated by the Justice Department or any other authority.

In a statement issued after the search became public, Omar characterised the operation as an effort to punish a political opponent rather than a genuine law enforcement action. She said Trump has spent a decade directing "baseless lies and smear campaigns" at her, and described Monday's events as the most recent escalation in what she called a campaign of political intimidation. "I will not be silenced," she said.

Her communications director, Jacklyn Rogers, went further, calling the search "an outrageous abuse of power" by the Trump administration and insisting that the congresswoman "has done nothing wrong."

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives also weighed in, issuing a statement saying Omar had long been the target of "vile personal attacks and baseless accusations" from the president. They noted that the search took place less than 30 days before voters head to the polls, describing the timing as evidence that the administration's "violent mass deportation machine" had been turned on a sitting member of Congress and her family.

That timing is central to the objections being raised. The raid came 22 days before November's midterm elections, which will determine which party controls Congress for the next two years. The Justice Department maintains a longstanding internal policy of avoiding most enforcement actions that could reasonably be seen as intended to influence an election or disadvantage a candidate.

Omar's immigration history has been a recurring target for Republicans. Earlier this year, South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace filed a subpoena seeking her records, an effort that ultimately failed. Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told a conservative podcaster that "something is going to happen" while making allegations of marital fraud against the congresswoman. Separately, White House border tsar Tom Homan told Fox News that Omar was under investigation for unspecified immigration violations.

Omar rejected those claims before Monday's search, telling supporters in a campaign fundraising email that she was "not at all worried about these investigations, because they are complete shams." The BBC has reviewed an archived copy of that message. The president has previously suggested Omar "should go back" to Somalia and said she should be deported, despite the constitutional requirement that members of the House be US citizens. Omar has described his repeated attacks on her as an "unhealthy and creepy obsession."

Trump has also made the Somali American community a frequent subject of criticism, writing on social media last week that Minnesota "is being taken over by Somali immigrants" and urging residents of the state to "fight back."

Reaction from Republicans was sharply divided from that of Democrats. Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer welcomed the search, saying "nobody is above the law" and adding that he looked forward to learning more about the investigation. "Accountability is coming," he said. Other Republicans have so far stayed quiet on the matter.

Minnesota's senior political figures rallied to Omar's defence. Governor Tim Walz said Americans recognised the search for what it was, accusing Trump of abusing his power to pursue political opponents in the weeks before an election. Senator Tina Smith described it as "a transparent attempt to interfere in our elections."

Omar, who represents a district in the Minneapolis area, became the first Somali-American elected to the US House. She and Michigan's Rashida Tlaib were also the first Muslim women to serve in Congress and were both elected in 2018. She won re-election in 2024 with 74% of the vote, underscoring her enduring strength in a district that has sent her to Washington repeatedly.

Monday's search raises difficult questions about the intersection of federal law enforcement, immigration policy and electoral politics. With control of Congress at stake and early voting already under way in several states, both parties are likely to use the episode to mobilise their bases. Democrats will point to it as evidence of the administration's willingness to deploy federal agencies against its critics, while Republicans who welcomed the search will argue that the rule of law applies equally to elected officials.

The Justice Department has not indicated whether charges are expected or when the investigation might conclude, leaving the congresswoman's supporters and critics alike waiting for clarity on a case whose legal foundations remain largely hidden from public view.