175 House Democrats Demand DOJ and DHS Halt Ilhan Omar Probe One Week Before Election

Federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington home on Oct. 12. Two weeks later, 175 House Democrats want the investigation behind it to stop until voters have their say.

The letter went out Monday, Oct. 26, to Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Jamie Raskin, Bennie Thompson, Robert Garcia, Yvette Clarke and Greg Casar led it.

"This weaponization of law enforcement to harass a sitting Member of Congress 22 days before an election is unprecedented and unacceptable," the lawmakers wrote. They added: "You have already disgraced the offices you hold."

What agents did and what they are looking at

Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a search warrant on Omar's home after a federal magistrate judge signed it. According to CNN, citing multiple people familiar with the matter, the judge limited how the Justice Department could access her documents. The same sources say the probe covers immigration fraud, possible false statements on government documents and a potential conspiracy.

Agents carried out boxes of documents. The Democrats' letter says they "reportedly obtained her DNA, personal phone, and passport." Fox News reported that agents took multiple phones and notebooks.

The White House and the Justice Department have confirmed the investigation is ongoing. No charges against Omar have been announced.

The core allegation concerns her birth year. Omar's family fled Somalia, and her father obtained U.S. citizenship. If she was 17 at that point, she would have qualified automatically alongside him. If she was 18 or older, which federal officials now suspect, she would have needed her own application. That account is Fox News's reporting on what officials believe, not a charge. The New Republic reports the administration is reportedly building a case for denaturalizing Omar on that theory; that, too, is a report, not a charge.

Omar's lawyers say she became a naturalized citizen in 2000 after leaving Somalia in 1995. "There is no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status," attorneys Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz wrote to prosecutors.

The name dispute

A court filing from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro suggested Omar's legal name is Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, the surname of her ex-husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Omar rejected that to FOX 9. "My name is Ilhan Abdullahi Omar," she said.

Asked by MS NOW's Chris Hayes whether she is related to her ex-husband, she answered, "Not to my knowledge." That line has circulated widely online. The filing has not produced a charge or a finding.

The fight over how the search was run

Omar's lawyers sent a letter to Justice Department prosecutors after the search. They called the investigation "vindictive, retributive, and politically motivated" and described Omar as one of the president's chief congressional critics.

They also raised specific procedural complaints:

• The House Office of General Counsel was not told of the search until after it was publicly reported.
• The judge had ordered special notice procedures for the House and for Omar's counsel because she is a member of Congress.
• No one from the U.S. attorney's office or Justice Department was present to read Omar her privileges under the Speech or Debate Clause. Agents instead presented her a waiver, which she did not sign.
• Her lawyers say they had no chance to identify or segregate protected materials.

They demanded that all video and audio recorded by agents during the search be preserved.

A Justice Department spokesperson rejected all of it. The letter was "riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies," the spokesperson said. "Our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do. Leaking a letter to the press right after sending it is not good faith. It is a publicity play."

Those are competing accounts of what happened at the house. The recordings Omar's lawyers want preserved would speak to them directly.

The timing argument

The Democrats' letter leans on department practice. It says DOJ "has long followed a policy not to take investigative steps relating to a candidate this close to an election if delaying the action will not jeopardize a criminal investigation." It adds that Blanche himself invoked that policy as far back as nine months before an election.

Early voting began in Minnesota just days after the raid. The lawmakers argue that news of a warrant, "whether properly predicated or not," could shape voters' decisions. The four-term congresswoman is running again in a solidly Democratic district. Her campaign is also using the raid in fundraising emails, calling the administration "fascist."

Officials have not been quoted here defending the probe's timing. Fox News reported it had reached out to DHS and DOJ for comment. Common Dreams reports that Mullin, Vice President JD Vance and White House adviser Stephen Miller have piled on during the investigation. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., has called for Omar to be jailed and deported if the accusations are proven true.

The letter's authors say Trump officials have "continuously and baselessly" asserted criminal activity by Omar. A judge did approve this warrant, and the Justice Department says it followed the court's conditions. Both points are on the record.

What Democrats say they will do if they win the House

Jayapal told The New Republic that a Democratic majority would "actively and aggressively investigate this case" and would "probably have legislation to make sure there are no funds expended on this investigation."

Raskin, who would chair the Judiciary Committee in a Democratic majority, said his panel would work with appropriators. "We have the power of the purse," he said. The plan would also use subpoenas against officials involved in the case.

What comes next

Minnesota's 5th District votes Nov. 3, one week from today. Whether Omar is ever charged remains unresolved, as does whether a court will rule on the Speech or Debate dispute over seized materials. Her lawyers have already put prosecutors on notice about both.