Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C.-area residence was searched early Monday morning, a Department of Justice spokesperson said, as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
Sources tell ABC News that the investigation relates to Omar’s immigration paperwork. Omar, who was first elected to the House in 2018, is the first Somali-American in Congress.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., takes questions during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 13, 2026.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
In recent history, the Justice Department’s practice has been to advise prosecutors not to take any overt investigative steps against members of Congress or candidates within 60 days of an election. The midterm elections, during which Omar is up for reelection, take place in 22 days, with early voting starting in Minnesota later this week.
Omar came to the U.S. as a refugee when she was a child and has been living in the country since she was 12 years old. She is a U.S. citizen.
«Today in the Washington, D.C. area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice,» a DOJ spokesperson said. «This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.»
Omar released a statement on social media on Monday, saying she is «ok» and that the search at her residence is «an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.»
«I will not be silenced,» she wrote in the statement.
It’s unclear whether Omar was at her D.C.-area residence at the time of Monday’s search.
A Homeland Security officer walks along 26th Street NE in Washington, Oct. 12, 2026, during an investigation at the residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar.
AP
White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed the investigation in an interview with Fox News on Monday, but offered few details. Homan said he didn’t want to get ahead of Attorney General Todd Blanche on any matter related to the investigation.
«I can confirm that a search warrant was executed this morning, signed by a judge. Department of Justice is leading the investigation along with Department of Homeland Security,» Homan said. «There is an investigation. I won’t get into the specifics of the criminal investigation.»
Homeland Security officers walk down 26th Street NE in Washington, Oct. 12, 2026, during an investigation at the residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Omar, who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, has been a central political target for the administration and its broader efforts to cast the Somali community as criminal and un-American.
«How about Ilhan Omar? She comes from Somalia. She comes from Somalia. They don’t have a government. They don’t have police. They don’t. All they have is crime and squalor. And she comes into our country, and she says, ‘My constitution allows me.’ She’s talking about our constitution, what they’ve done to Minnesota, these people from Somalia, what they’ve done to Minnesota, should never be allowed. And let’s see what happens. JD Vance and our people are looking at it very strongly,» Trump said during a rally on Saturday.
In social media posts earlier this year, Trump also said Omar «should be in jail» and «sent back to Somalia.»
Trump’s remarks directed at Omar have drawn criticism, and Omar said earlier this year that Trump’s rhetoric has led threats against her to «skyrocket.»
The White House referred all comment requests to the Department of Justice.
Vice President JD Vance, who the administration has tasked with leading the so-called «anti-fraud efforts» said during a White House briefing in May that the administration was going to look into Omar for immigration fraud allegations.
Omar has previously denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
Last month, Homan confirmed in an interview with Fox News that DHS was looking into Omar, but wouldn’t disclose the extent of those allegations noting that it was part of an «ongoing criminal investigation.»
