U.S. federal agents searched on Monday the home of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Muslim lawmaker for the state of Minnesota and frequent target of Trump administration criticism, as part of a criminal investigation, media reports said.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents conducted the search, said the sources, who were not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press (AP) on the condition of anonymity.
More details about the investigation were not immediately clear, although Vice President JD Vance has in the past accused Omar of committing immigration fraud – an allegation she has denied – and has said he and a top White House official were trying to figure out how to investigate the Minnesota congresswoman.
The Justice Department said in a statement Monday that HSI agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the department in the Washington, D.C., area, but provided no other details. The street was blocked off on Monday morning as HSI agents remained near the home.
"This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation," the department said.
The raid followed a criminal fraud investigation into the Somali-born lawmaker's immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her late father when she was a child, Fox News Digital reported, citing unidentified sources.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, of which Homeland Security Investigations is part, referred questions about the search to the Justice Department.
Omar represents Minnesota’s 5th District, including Minneapolis. She was first elected to the House in 2018 and has been a member of what's called The Squad of female lawmakers known for their progressive views and pointed opposition to President Donald Trump, a Republican.
Republicans have raised questions about Omar's past since before she was even elected, including asserting that she had married her brother and committed immigration fraud. Omar has broadly denied the allegations as "disgusting lies."
"It certainly seems like something fishy is there, but everybody's entitled to equal justice under the laws," Vance told reporters in May.
"So we're going to investigate it. We're going to take a look at it. If we think there's a crime, we're going to prosecute that crime."
In a separate interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, Vance said without offering evidence that "we actually think that Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America."
He said that he and deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller had been discussing it and "trying to look at what the remedies are."
"That’s the thing that we’re trying to figure out," he said. "What are the legal remedies now that we know that she’s committed immigration fraud. How do you go after her? How do you investigate her? How do you actually do the thing? How do you build the case necessary to get some, some, some justice for the American people?”
Omar’s office in March dismissed Vance’s claims as fabricated and defamatory.
"This is rich coming from someone who literally said they were willing to ‘create stories’ to redirect the media,” Omar’s chief of staff, Connor McNutt, said in a statement.
"This is a ridiculous lie and desperate attempt to distract from the pedophile protection party’s unpopular war of choice, increasing gas prices, and rapidly dropping polling numbers," McNutt said of the vice president’s allegations and comments.
'Creepy obsession'
Omar, an outspoken critic of Trump, has called his focus on her an "unhealthy and creepy obsession."
Last week, Trump also criticized the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, who is Muslim, while offering support for the Republican candidate, Mike Rogers.
Civil rights advocates have criticized the Republican president's rhetoric towards minorities and immigrants, including when he previously called Somalis "garbage."
Trump in February said that Omar and Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who is also Muslim, should be "institutionalized" and sent back to "where they came from."
Both lawmakers had criticized Trump during his State of the Union address as he touted his administration's hard-line immigration crackdown and its immigration enforcement actions.
There was no immediate public response from Omar to Monday's search.
No charges were announced in connection with the search.