Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, said on Wednesday that federal agents who searched her Washington home last week were trying to unsettle her, and she denied allegations of immigration fraud in her first interview since the raid.1,3,4,5
Speaking to MS NOW host Chris Hayes, Omar described the October 12 search as part of a broader pressure campaign against her. The search was carried out under a warrant in what has been described as an immigration fraud investigation, and Omar has said the probe is politically motivated.1,3,5
Omar said that about 10 to 15 Homeland Security Investigations agents pounded on her door at 6 a.m. and then executed a search warrant. According to Omar, the agents spent nearly five hours going through the residence room by room and took 17 items, including several phones. “You don’t show up to somebody’s house that early in the morning unless you’re trying to freak them out,” she said.1
Omar said she believes the raid was intended to satisfy supporters of President Donald Trump. “They kept alluding to the fact that something was going to happen to me,” she told Hayes. “They had to do something, I believe, to say, ‘Hey, look we raided her house.’”1
She also said she believed that the people behind the search would prefer a different outcome. “Obviously, they’d like to see me locked up, deported and all of those things,” Omar said. “But I think the bigger satisfaction for them would be for me to be like, ‘I’m tired of all of you and I’m going to leave.’”1
Trump has repeatedly criticized Omar, and on Tuesday he called her a “sick, very dishonest person who hates our country” while answering questions from reporters at the White House. Asked whether Omar could face deportation over alleged misstatements in her immigration paperwork, Trump said, “Well, she could be. She could also go to jail.”1
Some cabinet officials and conservative influencers have promoted claims that Omar is in a sham marriage with her brother and has fudged details of her immigration paperwork. Omar said the brother rumors first circulated on a Somali blog before gaining traction with rightwing conspiracy theorists in Minneapolis.1
In a new court filing, prosecutors said they had not fully executed the search warrant for Omar’s D.C. residence. The Justice Department has asked a judge to delay responding to requests from 14 news organizations, filed October 15, to unseal the warrant records. Prosecutors proposed updating the court within 30 days after the warrant is fully executed, and asked for until November 9 to respond if the judge does not agree. It was not clear from the filing what remains to be done.5
The filing also lists Omar under another name, “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.” Prosecutors did not explain why they used that name. The Daily Wire said it was seeking clarification from the Justice Department.5
The New York Times reported that text messages between family members helped convince a judge to approve the search, and that investigators had seized a phone belonging to Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, earlier this year. The Times also reported that the investigation into Omar’s finances and dealings with a foreign citizen began under the Biden administration in 2024. Investigators have been looking for paperwork that Omar and her father filled out when they came to the United States. Omar has said she became a citizen at 17, when her father was naturalized in 2000. Critics have questioned her birth year after congressional staff changed it from 1981 to 1982 in official directories.5
Omar’s sister and another family member have received subpoenas, and agents took documents and electronics from the home. Omar has demanded the return of her passport, computers and other belongings.5
In a separate development, Omar said she will have to move out of her Washington apartment because of threats she has received since the search. “Obviously, I can’t continue to live there,” she said, adding, “Because our address has been public.”4
On Wednesday, Omar also released a tearful video asking supporters for money to help fight the Trump administration. “It is going to be a very expensive and challenging time,” she said, asking for donations of $5, $10 or $20. It was not clear from the reports when the warrant would be fully executed or when the judge would rule on the unsealing requests.5
Asked about the case in the MS NOW interview, Omar maintained that she would not step aside. “I have a legal right to be a member of Congress.”1
