Federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar's home in the Washington area early Monday, according to Fox News and the Associated Press, and a Justice Department spokesperson told ABC News that the search was part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
"Today in the Washington, D.C., area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice," a department spokesperson said in a statement provided to Fox News. HSI is the main investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. The statement, which ABC News also published, did not describe what agents were seeking or mention any charges.
People familiar with the matter told ABC News that the investigation relates to Omar's immigration paperwork. Fox News, citing its own sources, described the case as a criminal fraud inquiry centered on immigration documents that her late father completed on her behalf when she was a child, and reported that several agents in HSI jackets were seen outside the house early Monday.
Omar, who was born in Somalia and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, has repeatedly been accused by President Trump and his allies of fraud tied to her family's immigration history. She has consistently denied the accusations.
In a mid-September interview on "The Sunday Briefing," White House border czar Tom Homan said there was an "ongoing criminal investigation" into Omar. Asked directly whether he was confirming an investigation of her, Homan replied, "I'm confirming that ICE is." He declined to say what the inquiry centered on or whether the government had evidence that she committed immigration or naturalization fraud.
That week, Omar told Fox News Digital that the Department of Homeland Security had not contacted her about any investigation. She brushed off the allegations as a long-running line of attack from the right and said she did not worry about them.
The search came two days after Trump, speaking at a rally, criticized Omar by name and said Vice President JD Vance "and our people are looking at it very strongly," the Guardian reported. It also came three weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, timing the Guardian predicted would bring fresh accusations that the president was using the government for political purposes.
Omar's office, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to the Guardian's requests for comment.