Omar probe aims to revoke her citizenship, people familiar say
Federal investigators are trying to build a case to revoke Rep. Ilhan Omar's U.S. citizenship and deport her, people familiar with the probe told USA Today and the New York Post. A key question is her age when she became a citizen. Omar has not been charged, and her office says the effort "has no basis in the law."
The federal investigation of Rep. Ilhan Omar is aimed at revoking her U.S. citizenship and deporting her if investigators can prove that she or her relatives lied to immigration authorities, according to two people familiar with the matter, USA Today reported Thursday. The Wall Street Journal first laid out that aim, USA Today said.
The New York Post also cited its own sources. If Omar's citizenship was obtained by hiding a material fact or by willful misrepresentation, the government will seek to denaturalize and deport her, one source confirmed to the Post.
Omar, a Minnesota Democrat born in Somalia, became a citizen in 2000 at 17 through her father's naturalization, a route open only to children under 18, USA Today reported. Investigators are trying to determine whether the family misstated her birth date so she would qualify, the outlet said. The age question "seems to be the key focus now," one official told USA Today. Some records list her birthdate as Oct. 4, 1981, and others as the same date in 1982, the Post reported.
Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Omar's Washington home on Monday. Roughly 20 agents took her laptop, cellphone, passport and multiple notebooks, a source told MS NOW. The warrant listed possible immigration fraud, false statements in immigration proceedings and conspiracy, the source said.
Investigators are also examining whether her father misrepresented his military history, USA Today reported. Proving either issue likely would not be enough on its own to deport her, the outlet said. A federal judge would first have to revoke her citizenship, in a civil case or through a criminal conviction. A member of Congress has never been denaturalized, the Post reported.
Omar has not been charged with a crime, MS NOW reported. Her office said "Trump's push to strip her of her citizenship and deport her has no basis in the law and has no precedent," USA Today reported. "This isn't a legitimate law enforcement action," spokesperson Jacklyn Rogers told USA Today.
Separately, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has said her office is looking into Omar's financial disclosures, USA Today and MS NOW reported.
What we know: Investigators are examining Omar's citizenship, and agents seized her passport and devices.
What we don't: Whether prosecutors will file charges or a civil case to revoke her citizenship.
Where outlets agree USA Today and the New York Post both report, citing people familiar with the probe, that it aims to revoke Omar's citizenship and deport her.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.