United States immigration authorities have raided the home of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in the Washington, DC area over an ongoing investigation into alleged immigration fraud.
The operation took place before dawn on Monday, with the US Justice Department confirming that investigators executed a court-authorised search warrant.
Omar, a Somali-born lawmaker representing Minnesota, is a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump.
A person familiar with the investigation said the probe concerns alleged immigration fraud, including paperwork relating to Omar’s immigration history that was completed by her late father when she was a child.
“Today in the Washington, DC 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,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in an email.
Homeland Security Investigations operates under US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A spokesperson for Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, told Fox Business Network that the Justice Department was leading the investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security but declined to disclose further details.
The raid comes less than a month before the November 3 US midterm elections, in which Republicans will seek to retain their narrow majorities in Congress.
Omar, who is seeking re-election, represents a district considered safely Democratic and won her 2024 election by a 50-percentage-point margin.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned the operation, accusing Trump of targeting political opponents ahead of the elections.
“Americans see this for what it is,” Walz wrote on social media.
“President Trump is abusing his power to go after political opponents weeks before an election.”
US Justice Department policy prohibits prosecutors and federal agents from timing investigative actions to influence elections or benefit political candidates.
The department has historically avoided investigative steps involving candidates within approximately 60 days of an election.
The raid comes amid investigations and criminal cases involving several individuals viewed as political opponents by Trump.
They include former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former national security adviser John Bolton.
The Justice Department has also investigated Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve officials Jerome Powell and Lisa Cook.
A federal judge dismissed the cases against James and one of the two cases against Comey, while Bolton pleaded guilty in a separate case and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
Omar has repeatedly clashed with Trump, who recently intensified his anti-Somali and anti-Muslim rhetoric.
She has described his repeated focus on her as an “unhealthy and creepy obsession.”
In February, Trump said Omar and Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who is also Muslim, should be “institutionalized” and sent back to “where they came from.”
Both lawmakers had criticised him over his administration’s immigration crackdown.
Civil rights advocates have criticised Trump’s remarks about minorities and immigrants, including his previous description of Somalis as “garbage.”
Omar has said she and her family have received death threats, which she attributes to “hateful political rhetoric,” particularly from Trump.
Last month, a Minnesota man, Anthony James Kazmierczak, was sentenced to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a federal official for attacking Omar by squirting vinegar on her.
He admitted targeting the congresswoman because he disagreed with her progressive political views.
