Ilhan Omar’s Democratic colleagues have condemned federal agents’ search of the Minnesota congresswoman’s home on Monday morning, describing it as “deeply disturbing” and emblematic of the Trump administration’s “corrupt weaponization” of the US government. House Democratic leaders, including minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, party whip Katherine Clark and caucus chair Pete Aguilar, issued a joint statement excoriating the president for the search. Now, less than 30 days until the midterm election, his violent mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected member of Congress and her family.” The Democratic leaders vowed to “deliver full accountability for the rogue abuse of power” from the US Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, the latter of which oversees immigration enforcement.
Citing unnamed sources “close to the investigation”, Fox News – which is typically friendly with the Trump administration – reported that the search on Omar’s home pertained to a criminal fraud investigation concerning her immigration paperwork. Omar’s late father filled out that paperwork when Omar, a Somali-born, naturalized US citizen, was a child. California representative Ro Khanna also condemned Monday’s search, saying: “It is simply chilling that they are targeting political opponents this way, and it is disturbing that they are targeting Muslim Americans and a Muslim American legislator.
Any decent American needs to stand up and speak out.” Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Khanna’s fellow Democrat and California representative, called the search “fascism in the extreme”. Jayapal’s statement alluded to years of unsubstantiated rumors from Trump and others about Omar and her family, including the accusation that her ex-husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, is in fact her brother – and that the marriage was part of an effort to earn him immigration status. Omar has denied those rumors.
The Illinois representative Delia C Ramirez called for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be dismantled. Omar “has not backed down, so now they are using DHS and the federal government to target and persecute her”, Ramirez said in a post on X. We must strip them of their weapons.
We must dismantle DHS.” Similarly, Greg Casar, a Democratic representative from Texas, wrote that the Trump administration is targeting Omar “because he thinks it’ll help his [Republican] party” during the midterms, when it is expected to lose seats in Congress.
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