Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant at Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington, D.C.-area residence early on Oct.

12, which the Justice Department described as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. Omar, who is running for reelection in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District, was not charged with any crime.

In her first interview since the search, she told MS NOW's Chris Hayes she had been asleep for only about 2 1/2 hours after returning from travel when agents began pounding on the doors, which she said sounded like an urgent evacuation.

Omar said the search lasted four to five hours and involved as many as 25 agents, who seized roughly 17 items: her phone, an old phone, her youngest daughter's old phone, her husband's notebooks, a camera, and a children's Somali phrase book her husband was using to learn the language.

She also said she was asked to sign a document waiving constitutional protections afforded to her as a member of Congress and refused.

Her attorneys told Arab News that agents violated key warrant restrictions, failed to promptly provide a copy of the warrant, and did not contact the House Office of General Counsel beforehand, as required.

In recent history, the Justice Department has advised prosecutors against overt investigative steps involving members of Congress or candidates within 60 days of an election.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the search an abuse of power aimed at a political opponent, and Senator Tina Smith described it as an attempt to interfere in elections, while Representative Tom Emmer welcomed it, saying accountability is coming.

According to MS NOW, a source said the warrant listed potential violations involving immigration fraud, false statements in immigration proceedings and conspiracy.

CNN, which both MS NOW and Arab News cite, reported investigators are looking into whether Omar or her late father made false statements about her age during the citizenship process, since minors under 18 could gain citizenship automatically through a parent in 2000.

Omar noted that the agents who searched her home are the same ones who processed her family's arrival, and no court has found wrongdoing; a 2019 internal review found insufficient evidence to open a full investigation, per The Washington Post's reporting cited by MS NOW.

Omar called the search an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement, writing, 'I will not be silenced.'

President Trump told reporters he had 'nothing to do' with the investigation while attacking her, and White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed the warrant without specifics.

In an Instagram video, Omar vowed to keep campaigning through the midterms and began fundraising off the raid, telling small donors the coming period would be expensive and challenging.

She also said her family must move because the publicized raid exposed their address amid death threats that have surged since she took office.

Arab News reports the probe could theoretically expose Omar to denaturalization and deportation if the government proves willful misrepresentation of a material fact, though such cases are rare — an average of fewer than 10 complaints were filed annually between 2008 and mid-2026, per data cited by Arab News.

Investigators have also reportedly spoken with her sister, Sahra Noor, according to Fox News reporting cited by Arab News.

Somali-American advocates, including CAIR-Minnesota's Jaylani Hussein, condemned the rhetoric surrounding the case as Islamophobic and xenophobic, and community leaders worry about broader fallout for Somali Minnesotans as the election approaches.