Ilhan Omar Draws House Democratic Support as Immigration Probe Continues
Andrew Powell · Oct 28, 2026 · 2 min read
Nearly 200 House Democrats are demanding that federal investigators halt further action against Rep. Ilhan Omar after agents searched her Washington, D.C., home earlier this month.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., led 175 members of the House Democratic Caucus in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to Fox News.
The lawmakers accused federal authorities of using the investigation for political purposes as Omar seeks another term representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
The Democrats argued that the timing of the search could influence voters shortly before the election. They said federal law enforcement should avoid taking investigative steps involving candidates so close to an election when delaying an action would not threaten a criminal investigation.
“We stand with Congresswoman Omar and condemn the weaponization of law enforcement against her,” the lawmakers wrote. They also demanded that federal officials take no additional steps that could affect the election.
Omar is being investigated over allegations involving her immigration history after her family fled Somalia in the late 1990s. Federal officials are examining whether Omar or her late father provided false information about her birth year on immigration documents connected to her path to U.S. citizenship.
The dispute centers in part on Omar’s age when her father obtained citizenship. If she was 17 at the time, she would have qualified for citizenship automatically with him, according to the allegations. If she was already 18, federal officials suspect she would have needed to submit her own application.
The Democratic lawmakers acknowledged the investigation but argued that it did not justify what they described as a pre-dawn search of Omar’s residence over documents her father filed while she was a minor.
Federal agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant at Omar’s home on Oct. 12. Investigators seized several items, including phones and notebooks.
The lawmakers called the search “unprecedented and unacceptable,” arguing that the investigation was being pursued because of Omar’s political opposition to President Donald Trump.
Omar has also characterized the investigation as a political attack aimed at one of Trump’s most vocal critics.
Republicans have pushed back against those claims. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., has said Omar should face imprisonment and deportation if the allegations against her are proven true.
The investigation remains ongoing, while Omar and her Democratic colleagues continue to challenge the federal government’s handling of the case.