DOJ builds case in probes of Rep. Ilhan Omar

Name: DOJ builds case in probes of Rep. Ilhan Omar
Uploaded: 2026-10-15T02:00:31.000Z
Duration: 38 s

A predawn search seized phones and papers in a Justice Department probe of whether she or relatives gave false immigration information.

IDBy IJR Editor DeskOct 16, 2026

Fox News posted a YouTube short titled "Watters: The DOJ is building a CASE #shorts #news #foxnews #fox," and the channel's description says host Jesse Watters discusses developments in the investigations into Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on "Jesse Watters Primetime." A predawn raid on Omar's Washington home by federal agents stemmed from an expanding Justice Department investigation into her immigration paperwork, three people familiar with the case told Reuters.

The network published the clip on Oct. 15, 2026. Reuters reporters Andrew Goudsward and Kristina Cooke wrote that the probe centers on whether the Somali-born lawmaker or her relatives gave false information upon entering the United States as refugees in the mid-1990s or during the process of becoming American citizens. 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. Those sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Homeland Security Investigations agents seized Omar's cellphone, notebooks, personal computers and passport during the search, according to Reuters and to a separate account by Samuel Chamberlain and Josh Christenson. Federal prosecutors issued more than a dozen subpoenas, including to at least one of Omar's relatives, two people told Reuters. One of the people said a sister of Omar spoke voluntarily with federal agents. A Reuters photograph caption described HSI agents walking in the neighborhood where Omar resides after authorities conducted the raid on October 12. Omar has denied wrongdoing. She characterized the raid as an act of "political intimidation," Reuters reported. A spokesperson for Omar had no immediate comment.

The Department of Justice declined to comment on the specific Omar investigation. In a statement, a DOJ spokesperson said US citizenship "must be obtained lawfully and honestly" and the Trump administration would investigate any case where the facts support denaturalization. One person familiar with the probe told Reuters that one potential aim could be to strip Omar of her citizenship and deport her, ideas President Donald Trump and his Homeland Security chief have floated. Asked by the New York Times in January if Omar should lose her citizenship, Trump replied, "Oh, absolutely." Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told a conservative podcaster last month there may have been "some illegal activity for them (Omar's family) to come to the United States to begin with."

Watch the video

Fox NewsOct 15, 2026

414k views19k likes1.5k comments

Watters: The DOJ is building a CASE #shorts #news #foxnews #fox

Watch on YouTube

Sponsored

Omar was 12 when her family arrived in the United States in 1995 after fleeing civil war in Somalia. She became a naturalized citizen in 2000 at age 17 and has represented Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019. Former immigration officials said denaturalization investigations have historically been rare, and it is extremely unusual for them to involve search warrants. "Most of the denaturalization cases that we engaged in related either to very serious international human rights violations, or very serious crimes, such as Nazi war criminals," said Kerry Doyle, a former deputy general counsel in the Department of Homeland Security during the Biden administration. The DOJ has filed at least 164 denaturalization cases in Trump's second term. Between 1990 and 2017, just 11 denaturalization cases were opened on average each year, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

Omar's status as a sitting member of Congress made the timing all the more unusual. The DOJ has traditionally refrained from investigative acts against political figures that are likely to become public within 60 days of an election. Courts have ruled that federal authorities cannot review material related to the legislative acts of a member of Congress. 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. A coalition of 14 news organizations, including Reuters, asked a federal judge on Thursday to unseal records related to the search.