Photo Credit: Getty Images / Heather Diehl / Omar speaks at a January 13 press conference
(MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) – Minnesota US House Representative Ilhan Omar’s house was raided by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a branch of the Justice Department, on October 12. The official reason given for the investigation was immigration-related fraud.
Border Czar Tom Homan said other allegations exist, but he can’t discuss them during an ongoing investigation. During the raid on Omar’s residence in Washington, D.C., which lasted over four hours, her phones, several notebooks, a vintage camera, and a children's book in Somali were seized.
Omar recently won the Democratic primary for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District, centered in Minneapolis. It’s extremely rare for any branch of the Justice Department to investigate to this degree before a major election.
She is also an open critic of President Donald Trump and has faced allegations of immigration-related fraud before. She was previously accused of marrying her brother to fast-track his US citizenship.
Recently, Trump has been vocal about Omar lying about her name to gain citizenship, claiming her real name is Ilhan Nur Said Elmi. Her second husband's last name is Nur Said Elmi; he’s a British Citizen and Doctoral Researcher at the University of Bristol.
Photo Credit: Truth Social/ Donald J. Trump Official / Trump’s post on Omar’s ‘real’ name
Elmi is also the man rumored to be her brother. Omar rarely gives credence to any rumors and often refuses to comment, but when asked if they were related at the height of the rumor, she said, “Not to my knowledge.”
Many of her opponents took this as an admission, but no records have surfaced to support the allegation. Trump also promoted these claims on his social media, though known documentation shows Omar went through the legal naturalization process and was 12 at the time of her immigration.
This isn’t the first time the Trump Administration has used citizenship as a proverbial sword; he famously claimed that former President Barack Obama was born in Kenya and demanded he release his birth certificate to prove he wasn’t. Those allegations were ultimately disproven.
The constant bombardment of accusations regarding her citizenship and personal life has led many of her supporters to believe that the Trump Administration is on a modern-day "witch hunt" and slinging "baseless accusations" in a last-ditch effort to influence the election ahead of November.
Photo Credit: Rueters / Anabelle Gordon / HSI walking Omar’s neighborhood October 12
Representative Omar’s attorneys agree. Supporters have voiced concerns that the administration is trying to forward a pretext that allegations were so serious the HSI couldn’t wait until after the election to begin investigations.
If it was an attempt to influence the election, it did, but maybe not the way anyone expected. Omar’s fundraising has skyrocketed since the raid on her residence. She raised about $1.5 million between the day of the raid and the day after. Omar has set up a separate fund for donations toward legal fees.
Investigations are still ongoing, but some are concerned that even if HSI doesn’t find anything, they may fabricate evidence, considering the aggressive, persistent accusations about Omar being brought forth one after another.
Others compare the raid’s execution to smash-and-grab tactics ICE used during Operation Metro Surge. In the aftermath, Omar has moved out of her D.C. home, noting that she no longer feels safe there.
To add to or correct any information in this report, please contact me at kristin.h@lead4earth.org.
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