US Probes Omar’s Decades-Old Immigration Paperwork With Eye Toward Deportation, Sources Say

A predawn raid on Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar’s home by federal agents stemmed from an expanding investigation into her US immigration paperwork, three people familiar with the ​case said this week.

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The sealed warrant for Monday’s search listed conspiracy, false statements on immigration paperwork and immigration fraud as potential crimes being investigated, one of the people familiar with the matter said. Like the other people, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

One of the people familiar with the probe told Reuters that one potential aim could be to strip Omar of her US ​citizenship and deport her, ideas that both President Donald Trump and his Homeland Security chief have floated.

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Former immigration officials said denaturalization investigations have historically been rare, and it is extremely unusual for them to involve search warrants, as the government should already have the relevant immigration records.

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Agents with Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ​seized Omar’s personal cell phone during the search, according to two of the sources. Federal prosecutors also issued more than a dozen subpoenas, including to at least one of Omar’s relatives, the two people said.

One of the ‌people said ⁠a sister of Omar spoke voluntarily with federal agents.
It was unclear what evidence prosecutors presented to the federal magistrate judge who approved the raid.

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The DOJ has traditionally refrained from investigative acts against political figures that are likely to become public within 60 days of an election, particularly if the evidence can be collected after votes are cast.

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Before approving the search, US Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ordered screening procedures to prevent such a review, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Under the terms of the warrant, prosecutors were supposed to inform Omar’s lawyers about the protocol for protecting legislative records, but that has not ​happened, one of the people said.

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Omar was 12 when her family arrived in the United States in 1995 after fleeing civil war in ​Somalia and spending years at ⁠a refugee camp in Kenya. She became a naturalized citizen in 2000.

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Asked by the New York Times in January if he thought Omar should lose her US citizenship, Trump replied: “Oh, absolutely.”

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