Federal immigration agents raid Ilhan Omar's Washington home before midterms

Federal immigration agents carried out an early morning raid at the Washington DC home of Representative Ilhan Omar, the Somali-born Democratic congresswoman, less than a month before she faces a re-election battle. Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security searched the address, with reports saying the search formed part of a criminal inquiry. Pictures showed Homeland Security Investigations agents outside the home carrying boxes into vans. The details of the investigation are not yet known.

Omar has long campaigned against ICE tactics under Trump. Unsubstantiated claims about her family's immigration history, which she denies, have long been an obsession for MAGA supporters, and she has often been a target of the president himself. She was born in Somalia, and her family fled civil war to come to the United States as refugees when she was 12. Vice President J.D. Vance has previously signalled that the administration would investigate her for immigration fraud. He said: 'You read the things about Ilhan Omar and about who she married and whether she didn't marry this person or that person, it certainly seems like something fishy is there, but everybody's entitled to equal justice under the laws.'

In a statement, Omar said that for ten years Trump had targeted her with baseless lies and smear campaigns, calling the search 'just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation' and saying, 'I will not be silenced.' House Democrats said she had been relentlessly subjected to vile personal attacks and baseless accusations.

The search comes close to the midterm elections, a period when the Justice Department historically avoids most enforcement action related to political candidates to avoid the appearance of bias. Omar's district, which covers Minneapolis, became a flashpoint for anti-ICE protests after Trump launched an enforcement operation targeting the city's Somali community last winter. Trump has previously said Somali immigrants should go back to where they came from and that he was 'always watching Omar.' Omar has criticised the president's focus on her and the Somali community.

Following the killing of mother-of-three Renee Goode by an ICE agent in January, the operation became a symbol of federal overreach, with protesters and politicians including Omar seen as a focus of resistance. Omar has been targeted before. Earlier this year she was sprayed with a liquid from a syringe that turned out to be vinegar, and she did not flinch and tried to chase her attacker. She later told followers: 'I'm OK. We're going to keep talking.'