Federal Agents Raid Ilhan Omar’s DC Home in Criminal Probe

Federal agents searched the Washington, D.C.-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar before dawn on Monday in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation, a dramatic escalation of a probe that has followed the Minnesota Democrat for years. The Ilhan Omar home raid marks one of the most aggressive federal enforcement actions ever taken against a sitting member of Congress.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department confirmed to multiple news outlets that agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice” at Omar’s residence. The department described the search as part of an “ongoing federal criminal investigation,” but declined to release further details.

What the Ilhan Omar home raid investigation involves

According to a person familiar with the matter, the investigation is related to alleged immigration fraud, and part of the probe concerns paperwork that was completed and submitted by Omar’s late father when she was a child. Current and former federal officials who spoke to NPR described the case as a multi-year probe that includes whistleblower complaints, with a former official saying the investigation deals with immigration fraud allegations.

Omar, who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, and arrived in the United States as a refugee in the mid-1990s before becoming a naturalized citizen in 2000. She has long been the subject of unproven theories about her naturalization and family history, which she has repeatedly called politically motivated smears.

The search unfolded in the pre-dawn hours Monday. Sharon Jackson, a 79-year-old neighbor who lives across the street from the congresswoman, told reporters that federal agents woke her around 4:30 a.m. “I got awakened by boom, boom, boom,” Jackson said. “They were out here with a great big truck.” Photographs from the scene showed several HSI agents walking near and around Omar’s home.

Omar calls the search political intimidation

By Monday afternoon, Omar had publicly condemned the operation. Writing on social media, she said she was “ok” but called the search an attempt to “target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”

“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,” Omar wrote. “I will not be silenced.”

Her spokesperson, Jackie Rogers, went further, calling the search “an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies.”

Omar is one of President Donald Trump‘s most outspoken critics in Congress, and Trump has directed personal insults at the Somali-born lawmaker for years. The timing has drawn particular attention: the raid came just 22 days before the midterm elections, in which Omar is seeking reelection.

Key facts about the federal investigation

• Agents with Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant early Monday morning, Oct. 12, 2026.
• The Justice Department confirmed the operation but described it only as part of an “ongoing federal criminal investigation.”
• A person familiar with the matter said the probe relates to alleged immigration fraud involving paperwork completed by Omar’s late father when she was a child.
• White House border czar Tom Homan publicly acknowledged in September that Omar was under an active criminal investigation.
• Omar denies any wrongdoing and says the probe is politically motivated.

A probe months in the making

The raid did not come without warning. In September, border czar Tom Homan publicly confirmed that Omar was the subject of an “ongoing criminal investigation,” telling Fox News that U.S. immigration authorities were examining allegations that had previously surfaced.

“If someone committed an immigration violation, if someone committed marriage fraud or anything like that, regardless if they’re a congressman or not, no one’s above the law,” Homan said at the time. He declined to provide specifics about the investigation.

Vice President JD Vance has also previously alleged that Omar committed immigration fraud — something she denies. Long-running online theories have claimed that Omar married her brother as part of an immigration fraud scheme; she addressed those claims in 2016, calling them “disgusting lies.”

Omar has said that federal investigators had not contacted her about the probe before Monday’s search, raising questions about why the case escalated to a physical search of a sitting lawmaker’s home without prior contact through counsel.

What happens next

The Justice Department has not indicated whether charges are expected, and the existence of a search warrant does not itself establish wrongdoing. Federal prosecutors secured the warrant through a judge, which requires a showing of probable cause, but investigators routinely note that searches are only one step in a lengthy process.

The White House has not issued a statement about the raid. With the midterm elections three weeks away, the investigation is all but certain to become a flashpoint in the national political debate over the independence of federal law enforcement.

Omar’s office said the congresswoman intends to cooperate while continuing to characterize the case as an act of political retaliation. Any further developments from the Justice Department are expected in the coming days.