NRT briefing
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s phone seized by feds during DHS raid tied to potential immigration fraud
Based on reporting by New York Post.
The Brief
Federal authorities seized a cell phone belonging to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) during a raid on her Washington, D.C., home Monday as part of a criminal investigation into potential immigration fraud. Investigators have issued more than a dozen subpoenas to her family members, focusing on whether Omar's family lied about her age when she immigrated in 1995.
Omar became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000 at a reported age of 17, which would have made her eligible for automatic citizenship through her father's naturalization. The probe also examines filings by her late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, regarding his U.S. application.
Questions about Omar's age resurfaced after her congressional staff contacted a Minnesota library after she took office to request changing her birth year in records from 1981 to 1982. Omar has denied wrongdoing and accused the Trump administration of weaponizing federal law enforcement.
Her husband, Tim Mynett, said, "My wife came here when she was 12 years old as a child war refugee. No concerns." A separate inquiry into Omar's financial disclosures is unrelated to the raid.