Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s cell phone confiscated, family members subpoenaed
The US Department of Justice (DOJ), whose chief, Todd Blanche, was formerly President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, has subpoenaed the relatives of Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar as part of its investigation into alleged immigration fraud, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported on Thursday.
The relatives do not include her husband and daughter.
Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on Monday carried out a pre-dawn raid on Omar's Washington, DC, home, and it has now been revealed that her cell phone, laptop, and other devices were confiscated in the process.
Omar has been a frequent target of Trump since his first term in office, when she was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Born in Somalia, she arrived in the US in 1995 as a child refugee, and became the first hijab-wearing Muslim to serve in the US Congress. She is up for re-election again on 3 November.
She obtained US citizenship at 17 after her now-deceased father was naturalised. The DOJ is reportedly looking into whether she was actually 18 at the time, meaning she would have had to apply for citizenship separately from her parents.
Trump has repeatedly called for an investigation into whether she is a lawful citizen, and even claimed she married her own brother for immigration purposes. Omar has denied these allegations, but both the president and Vice President JD Vance have insisted for the past year that she should be investigated, and Trump has led chants of "send her back" at his rallies.
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, said the administration is building a case to strip Omar of her citizenship and deport her.
Dozens to be stripped of US citizenship
In an unprecedented move, the DOJ announced last week it would move to strip 40 people of their US citizenship. Such an act has usually been rare and focused on fewer than a handful of Americans per presidential administration.
But it is also part of Trump's wide-ranging efforts to deport up to one million people a year from the US, regardless of whether they employed legal or illegal immigration pathways.
Omar has been a fierce critic of the president, but far from the loudest or most prominent.
Former Republican Congresswoman turned Trump foe Marjorie Taylor-Greene said on X that, like many of Omar's supporters, she also believes the investigation is a distraction.
"Me and Ilhan Omar are far apart policy wise. I’m pro life, she’s pro abortion. I’m pro 2A, she’s pro gun control. And on and on," Greene wrote on Wednesday.
"But can someone tell me how pretending to get ready to deport Ilhan Omar is going to bring gas down under $2, make health insurance freaking affordable, make a family’s weekly grocery bill make sense, and stop sending our beloved military off to fight for another fucking foreign war???"
"People are so sick and tired of the bullshit," she said.
This is not the first time Omar has come under investigation. In 2022, the former administration of Joe Biden, a Democrat, began looking into her finances, but that investigation ultimately stalled due to a lack of evidence, The New York Times reported.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
