DOJ Subpoenas Ilhan Omar’s Relatives as Probe Into Family’s Immigration History Escalates

Breaking

The federal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) widened Tuesday as the Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas to members of her family, one day after agents searched her Washington, D.C., home. The New York Times reported that investigators subpoenaed Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, and at least one other person in her family circle, and Fox News confirmed that subpoenas went to multiple relatives. The probe centers on the family’s immigration history, including whether Omar’s late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, lied or left out information on immigration forms before he became a U.S. citizen.

Grand jury subpoenas are used to gather evidence and do not, by themselves, mean the people who receive them are suspected of wrongdoing. Omar has not been charged with any crime, and the Times reported that earlier federal inquiries into her immigration history did not result in charges. Still, the subpoenas mark a clear escalation. Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a judge-approved search warrant at Omar’s home early Monday, and according to people who spoke anonymously to the Times, agents removed boxes of documents.

Details & Background

New scrutiny has also landed on a change to Omar’s listed birth year. The New York Post reported that in May 2019, months after she took office in Congress, Omar’s staff asked the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library to change her birth year from 1981 to 1982. In a May 24, 2019, email, the library’s director wrote, “On May 17, 2019, Library staff were informed by Rep. Omar’s congressional staff that her birth year was incorrect.” The director said the 1981 date had come from other reference sources and was added without documentation. Neither report established that the change prompted Monday’s search.

The birth year matters because Omar has said she became a citizen through her father’s naturalization. “I became a citizen actually before I turned 18,” she told The Intercept in 2018. Critics, including AJ Kern, who lost to Omar in the 2022 Democratic primary, have questioned whether she was still a minor when her father was naturalized. A state judge dismissed Kern’s lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction. Separately, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Tuesday on Fox News that her office is examining Omar’s financial disclosures, which showed the reported value of her husband’s businesses jumping to as much as $30 million before Omar amended them in April.

Reactions

Omar has called the investigation political. “I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” she wrote on X on Monday. “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns,” she added, before declaring, “I will not be silenced.” Reports say Omar has already begun fundraising off the search. Her sister did not respond to the Times’ requests for comment.

The administration has struck a firmer tone. In a statement posted by the White House on X on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said, “America wants answers, and we want them, NOW!” Vice President JD Vance said he had no advance knowledge of the search and promised the case would be judged on the evidence. “If there’s a real case there, we’re going to follow the facts,” Vance said. “If there’s not a real case there, then we won’t.” Border czar Tom Homan has said the investigation has been ongoing for some time.

Why This Matters to You

American citizenship is one of the most valuable things this country can grant, and the system only works if the information people provide to earn it is truthful. If investigators find that immigration forms in Omar’s family history contained false statements, federal law gives prosecutors tools to bring charges and, in serious cases, to seek denaturalization in court. If they find nothing, that outcome deserves to be made just as clear to the public.

A grand jury investigation touching a sitting member of Congress is rare and serious. The subpoenas show prosecutors are building a record, not simply making headlines, and a federal judge already found enough to sign a search warrant. With the midterm elections three weeks away, Democrats will question the timing and Republicans will demand accountability. What happens next will test whether the rule of law applies equally to the powerful, and the entire country will be watching.