Omar’s legal team says the search violated safeguards intended to protect the constitutional rights of members of Congress.
Published on October 17, 2026
Lawyers for Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota demanded the return of property seized during a federal search of her Washington, D.C., home, accusing the U.S. Justice Department of conducting a politically motivated investigation and failing to follow court instructions during the search.
“The political motivations behind this pre-election investigation and search are clear as day,” Omar’s lawyers wrote in a letter sent Friday to federal prosecutors and obtained by the Associated Press news agency. “This search was neither justified nor lawful.”
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In the letter, Omar’s attorneys, Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz, challenged an investigation into her immigration history, saying there was “no legitimate basis to suggest that she violated any law regarding her citizenship status.”
The letter accuses federal agents of threatening the separation of powers and failing to comply with a magistrate judge’s instructions to search Omar’s home in Northeast Washington on Monday.
Federal agents searched Omar’s home Monday as part of an investigation into allegations of immigration fraud. Authorities seized his phone and passport and issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some of his relatives, according to the Washington Post. His lawyers also asked authorities to preserve audio and video recordings of the search.
Omar’s lawyers say investigators did not provide them with a copy of the arrest warrant in advance, nor did they contact the House Legal Counsel’s office, which ignored the district judge’s orders. The notice would have allowed Omar to seek legal counsel and potentially take advantage of legislation that could have challenged the warrant.
Her lawyers said the procedures outlined by the judge are intended to protect Omar’s constitutional rights as a member of Congress and protect her from seizure of documents related to her legislative work.
His lawyers also argued that the investigation was politically motivated because of the proximity to the November midterm elections.
“Historically, the Department has refrained from this type of investigative activity in the run-up to an election, in order to avoid even the appearance of politically motivated police actions,” they wrote.
The Justice Department rejected the accusations, calling the letter “riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies.”
“Our attorneys and law enforcement partners have complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do,” Justice Department spokeswoman Emily Covington said.
Omar became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000 after fleeing Somalia with her family as a child, according to her House biography. She has repeatedly rejected conservative critics’ claims about her immigration status, which were also investigated in 2019 during the first Trump administration.
Omar’s lawyers have requested documents related to the 2019 investigation into his immigration history. According to the Washington Post, the initial investigation did not find enough evidence of wrongdoing to warrant a full investigation.
The scope of the current investigation remains unclear.
The search came days after Trump attacked Omar at a rally in Tennessee, describing her home state as a place of “crime and misery” and suggesting that Vice President JD Vance and others were investigating her. Hours after the search, Trump denied any involvement, telling reporters that the matter was “really up to the DOJ.”
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