The key facts
- Obama called the investigation against Ilhan Omar 'outrageous,' accusing the Trump administration of pressuring a critic of the president.
- The White House denies political motivation, saying the Justice Department is 'restoring law and order.'
- The investigation concerns Omar's citizenship and a possible misstatement of her age upon entering the US in 1995.
Obama speaks in defense of Omar
Barack Obama on Sunday published a post on X in which he stated that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is under federal criminal investigation solely because she openly criticizes President Donald Trump. 'The full power of the federal government is coming down on a law-abiding elected official because she dared to criticize the president,' he wrote, calling the investigation 'outrageous.'
The essence of the investigation
Last week, agents from the Department of Homeland Security conducted a search of Omar's home in Washington as part of an investigation into her immigration status. According to American media, the investigation is related to her citizenship and a possible misstatement of her age upon entering the US in 1995: it is being checked whether the age stated in the citizenship application matched her actual date of birth. Omar was born in Somalia and moved to the US as a child.
Obama's position
Obama noted that Omar's father obtained naturalization when she was 17, which gave her citizenship. According to him, the administration 'is attempting to deport Congresswoman Omar apparently solely on the basis of an unproven theory' that she was 18 at the time. He warned that if this becomes 'the new norm,' the precedent will not be limited to a single case. Under US Citizenship and Immigration Services rules, a child born outside the country automatically becomes a citizen if they have a citizen parent or are under 18 and residing with a citizen parent.
Reaction of the White House and Trump
White House press secretary Lauren Bis rejected any political motivation for the investigation: 'Unlike Joe Biden, President Trump has not used the Department of Justice against political opponents,' her statement said. Trump himself stated that the investigation 'has nothing to do with him,' calling Omar a 'terrible person' and a 'complainer.' The investigation could lead to an attempt by the Justice Department to strip Omar of her citizenship; this would require proving material misrepresentations during naturalization.
The search and lawyers' claims
According to media reports, during the search Omar's phone, computers, notebooks and passport were seized. Her lawyers, CBS News reports, sent a letter on Friday demanding the return of the property, arguing that the seizure violated restrictions set by a judge to protect her work as a federal legislator. The lawyers also stated that agents did not notify Omar and the House legal counsel about the search and did not allow her to contact an attorney for more than an hour.
Political context
Democrats characterized the search as an attempt by the president to interfere with the legislative branch; Republicans said Omar must answer to the law like anyone else. In 2023, Republicans removed Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee over comments about Israel that drew criticism from both parties. Omar called the investigation 'yet another escalation of Trump's campaign of political intimidation.' Obama did not mention in his post that Trump himself had previously questioned his citizenship; at the time, Obama published documents of his birth in Hawaii.
Image source, Getty Images
