DOJ policy on election-period enforcement draws Democratic concerns
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said “Americans see this for what it is — President Trump is abusing his power to go after political opponents weeks before an election.” US Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota called it “a transparent attempt to interfere in our elections.” House Democratic Party leadership said in a statement: “For years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations. Now, less than 30 days until the midterm election, his violent mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family.”
Republicans celebrated the action. “Nobody is above the law,” said Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer. “We look forward to learning more details about this raid and investigation. ACCOUNTABILITY IS COMING!”
The Justice Department has a longstanding policy of refraining from most enforcement action that is “likely to raise an issue or the perception” it was being brought for the purpose of affecting any election or disadvantaging a candidate. The search came 22 days before the November midterm elections, which will determine control of the US House for the next two years.
The search and what triggered it
Homeland Security Investigations agents “executed a judicially authorized search warrant” at Omar’s Washington-area home Monday morning, a US Justice Department spokesperson told the BBC. The search “is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation,” the spokesperson said, declining to provide further details on the nature of the investigation. A BBC crew saw several agents at the home, some carrying boxes to a van. The US Congress is out of session and it is unclear if Omar was at the home.
Fox News, which first reported the search, said Omar is being investigated over immigration paperwork filed by her late father when she was a child. The Justice Department did not confirm the specific subject of the warrant.
The search was not the first Republican effort to scrutinize Omar’s immigration records. Earlier this year, South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace unsuccessfully filed a subpoena for those records.
Omar and the Trump administration
Omar, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, described the search as “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.” “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns,” she said in an online statement. “This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced.” Her communications director, Jacklyn Rogers, called the raid “an outrageous abuse of power” by the Trump administration and said the congresswoman “has done nothing wrong.”
Omar denied the underlying allegations last month. “I will say it again so it’s as clear as possible: I’m not at all worried about these investigations, because they are complete shams,” she said in a campaign fundraising email, an archive of which has been seen by the BBC.
Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told a conservative podcaster that “something is going to happen” while alleging marital fraud against Omar. Separately, White House border tsar Tom Homan told Fox News that Omar was under investigation for unspecified immigration violations.
Trump has previously made statements about Omar’s background, suggesting she “should go back” to Somalia and that she should be deported — a step that would conflict with the requirement that House members be US citizens. Omar has described Trump’s attacks as an “unhealthy and creepy obsession.” Last week, Trump wrote on social media that Minnesota “is being taken over by Somali immigrants” and said “the people of Minnesota must fight back.”
Omar’s profile
Omar is the first Somali-American elected to the US House of Representatives and represents a Minneapolis-area district. She and Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib were the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Omar won her 2024 reelection with 74 percent of the vote.