US probes Ilhan Omar’s decades-old immigration paperwork with eye towards deportation, sources say
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sources → probe → deportation
A pre-dawn raid on Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar’s home by federal agents stemmed from an expanding investigation into her US immigration paperwork, three sources familiar with the case said in October.
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sources → stem → October
The investigation appears to centre on whether the Somali-born Omar, who has represented a Minnesota district since 2019, or her relatives gave false information upon entering the US as refugees in the mid-1990s or during the process of becoming American citizens.
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who → appear → process
The sealed warrant for the search on Oct 12 listed conspiracy, false statements on immigration paperwork and immigration fraud as potential crimes being investigated, one of the sources familiar with the matter said.
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one → seal → matter
Like the others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
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they → speak → investigation
One of the sources familiar with the probe told Reuters that one potential aim could be to strip Omar of her US citizenship and deport her, ideas that both US President Donald Trump and his Homeland Security chief have floated.
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Trump → tell → that
The targeting of a left-wing member of Congress whom Trump has long attacked in personal and bigoted terms has renewed concerns that his administration is using federal law enforcement to punish his political opponents, especially three weeks before an election when Omar is running to retain her seat.
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Omar → attack → seat
Omar has denied wrongdoing, characterising the raid as an act of “political intimidation”.
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Omar → deny → intimidation
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the immigration enforcement agency, referred questions to the Justice Department (DOJ).
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which → oversee → Department
A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment on the Omar investigation.
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spokesperson → decline → investigation
But in a statement, the spokesperson said that US citizenship “must be obtained lawfully and honestly” and the Trump administration would investigate any case where the facts support denaturalisation, the legal process of revoking citizenship that was acquired after birth.
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that → say → birth
A spokesperson for Omar had no immediate comment.
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spokesperson → have → comment
A rare step
Former immigration officials said denaturalisation investigations have historically been rare, and it is extremely unusual for them to involve search warrants, as the government should already have the relevant immigration records.
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government → say → records
“Most of the denaturalisation 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.
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Doyle → engage → administration
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, seized Omar’s personal cell phone during the search, according to two of the sources.
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Agents → seize → sources
Federal prosecutors also issued more than a dozen subpoenas, including to at least one of Omar’s relatives, the two sources said.
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sources → issue → relatives
One of the sources said a sister of Omar spoke voluntarily with federal agents.
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sister → say → agents
It was unclear what evidence prosecutors presented to the federal magistrate judge who approved the raid.
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who → present → raid
A coalition of 14 news organisations, including Reuters, asked a federal judge on Oct 15 to unseal records related to the search.
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coalition → include → search
Protections for Congress
The DOJ has traditionally refrained from investigative acts against political figures that are likely to become public within 60 days of an election, particularly if the evidence can be collected after votes are cast.
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votes → refrain → election
Omar’s status as a sitting member of Congress made the timing all the more unusual, and the probe potentially more fraught.
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probe → sit → Congress
Courts have ruled that the federal authorities cannot review material related to the legislative acts of a member of Congress, which is protected under the US Constitution.
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which → rule → Constitution
Before approving the search, US Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ordered screening procedures to prevent such a review, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
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Sharbaugh → approve → matter
Under the terms of the warrant, prosecutors were supposed to inform Omar’s lawyers about the protocol for protecting legislative records, but that has not happened, one of the sources said.
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one → suppose → sources
Omar was 12 when her family arrived in the United States in 1995 after fleeing civil war in Somalia and spending years at a refugee camp in Kenya.
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family → arrive → Kenya
She became a naturalised citizen in 2000.
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She → become → 2000
Trump has repeatedly attacked her heritage, her Muslim faith and the Somali community in Minnesota.
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Trump → attack → Minnesota
Asked by the New York Times in January if he thought Omar should lose her US citizenship, Trump replied: “Oh, absolutely.”
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Trump → ask → citizenship
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told a conservative podcaster in September there may have been “some illegal activity for them (Omar’s family) to come to the United States to begin with” and suggested deportation as a possibility.
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them → tell → possibility
A naturalised US citizen can lose citizenship if a judge finds it was obtained illegally or through the concealment or wilful misrepresentation of material facts.
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it → lose → facts
The DOJ has filed at least 164 denaturalisation cases in Trump’s second term.
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DOJ → file → term
Between 1990 and 2017, just 11 denaturalisation cases were opened on average each year, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
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cases → open → Center
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