Federal Probe Seizes Omar’s Phone, Subpoenas Family

Federal authorities seized Rep. Ilhan Omar’s phone and subpoenaed some of her relatives in a criminal probe into alleged fraud involving her immigration paperwork, The Associated Press reported. The federal grand jury investigation extends beyond Omar to her family. On Monday, Homeland Security Investigations agents searched her Washington, D.C., home.

Omar called the investigation “political intimidation” in a statement on X. “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she wrote Monday. “I will not be silenced.”

The investigation reaches her family

Sahra Noor, Omar’s sister, and at least one other family member received a subpoena, The New York Times reported. The subpoenas formed part of a federal grand jury investigation into alleged fraud involving Omar’s immigration paperwork. Federal authorities also seized Omar’s phone, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Monday, agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, searched Omar’s Washington, D.C., home. Federal investigators entered the home of a sitting representative as they pursued the probe. The reported actions include the search, the phone seizure and subpoenas to relatives.

The investigation came roughly a month after White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed a federal criminal investigation involving Omar. The probe is federal, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement includes the agency that searched her home. The allegations concern immigration paperwork, an issue that has also featured in political attacks against Omar.

Immigration claims and political pressure

Omar received her citizenship in 2000. As a child, she came to the United States with her family from Somalia, where they sought asylum during the country’s civil war, which caused widespread displacement. Trump and Republican lawmakers have previously made claims about Omar’s immigration status and accused her of fraud. Omar has repeatedly denied all allegations.

The case sits alongside a longer public dispute over Omar’s immigration status. Trump and Republican lawmakers have made accusations, and Omar has denied them. The current investigation adds federal searches, a phone seizure and subpoenas involving family members to that dispute. The reported account identifies alleged fraud involving immigration paperwork as the subject of the grand jury probe; it does not report a finding that Omar committed fraud.

The election clock

The midterms were less than three weeks away, and Omar was running for reelection. The Justice Department doesn’t typically take major action against candidates in the 60 days before an election. That timing places the reported federal actions close to the election, while the stated norm is that major action against candidates isn’t typical during that period.

Omar framed the investigation as an effort by the Trump administration to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. Her statement didn’t change the investigative steps described in the reports: agents searched her home, authorities seized her phone, and federal subpoenas reached her relatives. The allegations remain allegations; Omar has denied them, and the account provides no outcome of the ongoing probe.