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Ongoing5 earlier updates6 days

This story has run 6 times over 6 days, starting Oct 13.

  1. Federal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar's home in a criminal immigration-fraud probe, 22 days before her election
  2. UpdateFederal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro opens a review of Ilhan Omar's financial disclosures a day after agents searched her home; Trump says he takes 'no position' on deporting her
  3. UpdateAgents seized Ilhan Omar's phone in the search of her home, and a Minnesota grand jury has subpoenaed her relatives
  4. UpdateDHS Secretary Mullin says the Omar case is headed to a grand jury; her lawyers want seized items back
  5. UpdateJustice Department denies agents broke a judge's limits when they searched Rep. Ilhan Omar's home
  6. UpdateObama calls the federal probe of Rep. Ilhan Omar's citizenship 'appalling'; border czar Homan says the government could strip her citizenship and deport her — this issue
NBC NEWSUpdate

Obama calls the federal probe of Rep. Ilhan Omar's citizenship 'appalling'; border czar Homan says the government could strip her citizenship and deport her

Political Guyentist · October 19, 20264 min read

NBC NEWS

The Justice Department has not revealed its evidence, and the first Trump administration reviewed similar allegations in 2019 and found too little for a full investigation.

Barack Obama, in a long post on X on Sunday, Oct. 18, called the federal pursuit of Ilhan Omar (Rep-D Minnesota) an attempt to intimidate a critic of the president. Border czar Tom Homan said he has been told investigators have a "strong case," and that Omar could be denaturalized and deported if fraud is proven.

The question. Investigators are asking whether Omar was 18 when her father was naturalized in 2000. Records list her as 17. At 18 she would not have automatically become a citizen through him. A source told NBC that officials have cited conspiracy and false statements on immigration paperwork as possible charges. She has not been charged.

Obama. "The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president." He added that future presidents "in either party" could do the same.

Homan. "If you lie during the naturalization process, there is a process to denaturalize somebody… I know things, but that's the question for FBI."

The White House. Spokeswoman Lauren Bis: "Unlike Joe Biden, President Trump has not weaponized the Department of Justice against his political foes."

Still open. Officials have not said publicly what evidence shows she was 18 rather than the 17 her records list.

Catch upwhat happened before · 5 earlier issues
  • Oct. 12 — Federal agents searched Omar's Washington home and took her phone, in a criminal immigration-fraud probe tied to papers her late father filed, 22 days before her election.
  • Oct. 13 — U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro opened a review of Omar's financial disclosures; Trump said he takes "no position" on deporting her.
  • Oct. 14 — Reports said a Minnesota grand jury had subpoenaed her relatives and that her staff had earlier changed her listed birth year from 1981 to 1982.
  • Oct. 16 — DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the case is headed to a grand jury; Omar's lawyers asked for the seized items back.
4 earlier issues
BackgroundWhat a finding against Omar would and would not do2 facts
  • It would not by itself remove her from the House; the House judges its own members' qualifications, including seven years of citizenship.
  • The House can unseat a member who lacks a qualification by simple majority; expelling a member for misconduct takes two-thirds.

What we’re less sure of3 of 8 claims

Red take

A Minnesota grand jury should decide whether Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota Democrat in Congress, was 18 rather than 17 when her father became a citizen in 2000, the age at which she would not automatically have become a citizen through him. Her own staff moved her listed birth year from 1981 to 1982. Drop the case because she criticizes the president, and citizenship rules bend for anyone famous enough to cry persecution.

Blue take

Agents searched the Washington home of Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat in Congress, 22 days before her election, over allegations the first Trump administration reviewed in 2019 and found too thin to investigate fully. The evidence is sealed, yet Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, already talks of deporting her though she has not been charged. Let it stand, and, as former President Barack Obama warned, presidents of either party can aim the same machinery at their critics.