At around 6 a.m. this morning, the Department of Homeland Security raided Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, DC, home.
The Trump administration has said little to explain its reasoning; a Justice Department spokesperson said the raid was based on “a judicially authorized search warrant.” But reports indicate that it is related to a federal probe into the Minnesota lawmaker’s immigration paperwork, filed by a relative when Omar was a child.
Last month, White House border czar Tom Homan spoke along those lines, telling Fox News that DHS was investigating Omar for alleged “criminal conduct” and that “no one’s above the law” in terms of any “immigration violation.”
As I wrote today, the investigation looks to be yet another example of President Donald Trump’s targeted attacks against Omar, a progressive Democrat who has long condemned his administration’s policies. The president’s racist rhetoric against the congresswoman, who immigrated from Somalia in 1995, has prompted violent threats against Somalians living in Minnesota. And his administration repeatedly referenced the Covid-19 pandemic relief fraud scandal that involved some members of the state’s Somali American community to justify its violent immigration campaign starting in December.
Today’s raid also happens to be 22 days before the midterm elections, in which Omar is a heavy favorite for reelection.
—Alex Nguyen
