A group of 175 House Democrats is calling on the Trump administration to stop its investigation of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., arguing that the probe threatens the fairness of her reelection race. The effort follows a search of her Washington, D.C., home by federal investigators earlier this month.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., led the members of the House Democratic Caucus in a letter addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Attorney General Todd Blanche. The lawmakers described the inquiry into Omar's immigration history as a partisan attack and accused the officials of trying to influence the outcome of her campaign for another term.
"Congresswoman Omar is seeking reelection in Minnesota's 5th congressional district in just one week," the letter said. It added that news of the search warrant, "whether properly predicated or not, could affect voters' decisions," and argued that such interference strips Minnesotans of their constitutional right to a free and fair election.
Federal agents carried out a judicially authorized search warrant at Omar's home on Oct. 12 and seized several phones and notebooks, among other items. The Democrats called the timing, 22 days before the election, "unprecedented and unacceptable."
Omar is under federal investigation over allegations that she or her father lied about her birth year on immigration paperwork to secure her citizenship after the family fled Somalia in the late 1990s. If she was 17 when her father became a citizen, as was previously believed, she would have qualified automatically alongside him. If she was 18 or older, which federal officials now suspect, she would have been required to file her own application.
The lawmakers recounted the allegations in their letter, noting that the probe reportedly concerns her late father's filing of immigration paperwork after she fled Somalia's civil war at age eight, which made her a U.S. citizen at seventeen. They argued that this does not justify "a pre-dawn raid on her home for paperwork her father filed when she was a minor."
The letter also pointed to Justice Department practice. According to the Democrats, the department has long followed a policy of avoiding investigative steps involving a candidate close to an election when waiting would not jeopardize a criminal investigation. They noted that Blanche has previously invoked that policy as far back as nine months before an election. They said the probe was "driven by a pre-determined political outcome rather than an objective pursuit of justice."
Omar has dismissed the investigation as a political hit job against one of President Trump's loudest critics. Others see it differently. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., has called for Omar to be jailed and deported if the accusations prove true.
"We stand with Congresswoman Omar and condemn the weaponization of law enforcement against her," the letter said, demanding that the officials refrain from any further actions that could affect the election. Fox News Digital reached out to DHS and the Department of Justice for comment.
