HOUSE DEMOCRATS RUSH TO SHIELD ILHAN OMAR AS FEDS BUILD IMMIGRATION FRAUD CASE WITH DNA AND RAID EVIDENCE
More than 170 House Democrats have fired off a letter demanding that Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin immediately drop the criminal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar and halt any further action, including the October 12 raid on her Washington, D.C., home.
Led by Reps. Jamie Raskin and Pramila Jayapal, the Democrats called the probe “weaponization of federal law enforcement” and an attempt to interfere with the election just weeks before voters go to the polls. They wrote that the pre-dawn search of a sitting member’s home “is unprecedented and unacceptable” and insisted that questions about paperwork her late father filed when she was a child do not justify the action.
The letter further claimed the investigation is “clearly driven by a pre-determined political outcome rather than an objective pursuit of justice” and warned that news of the warrant could affect voters’ decisions in Minnesota’s 5th District.
Federal authorities have a different view. Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant as part of an ongoing criminal probe into possible immigration fraud. Agents seized Omar’s personal phone, passport, notebooks, and other items—reportedly 17 pieces of evidence in total—and obtained DNA. Sources familiar with the case say DNA evidence is central to testing long-standing allegations that Omar married her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, in 2009 in an effort to help him obtain immigration benefits.
In a recent court filing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia referred to her as “Congresswoman Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.” When asked on television whether she is related to her former husband, Omar replied, “Not to my knowledge.”
Secretary Mullin has described the case as strong and said multiple warrants were executed the same day. He has previously stated that authorities know she “married her brother to try to bring him to the United States” and that the goal is to enforce the law, not politics. Border czar Tom Homan has echoed that investigators have a strong case and that no special treatment will be given.
Omar and her allies maintain the probe is baseless retribution. Her attorneys have demanded the return of seized property and called the investigation vindictive. Democrats, including leadership, have condemned the timing and vowed to investigate the investigators if they retake the House. Jayapal said they would “actively and aggressively investigate this case” and look at cutting funding for it.
The raid came after years of public questions about Omar’s immigration history, naturalization as a teenager, and marital records. Investigators have also subpoenaed family members and reviewed communications. While Democrats frame the effort as election interference, the administration maintains the warrant was signed by a judge and the case rests on evidence, not politics.
Sources: Breitbart News; letter from Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Jamie Raskin and more than 170 House Democrats to Attorney General Todd Blanche and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, October 26, 2026; Associated Press reporting on the October 12 search; statements from DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and other administration officials.