US authorities conducted a predawn raid on Monday on the Washington-area home of Democratic US Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump who has been the target of political insults by the Republican president, as part of an ongoing investigation, the Justice Department said.
A person familiar with the investigation said it is related to alleged immigration fraud, and part of the probe concerns the Somali-born lawmaker's immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her late father when she was a child. "Today in the Washington, DC area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorised search warrant secured by the Department of Justice.
This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal investigation," a Justice Department spokesperson said in an email. Homeland Security Investigations is part of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
A spokesperson for Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tom Homan, the Trump administration's border czar, told Fox Business Network that the Justice Department is leading the investigation with the Department of Homeland Security.
Homan declined to get into the specifics of an ongoing criminal investigation. The raid was carried out a little more than three weeks before the midterm elections, when Trump's party will be trying to defend its narrow majorities in the US Congress.
Omar, a prominent progressive who is running for reelection, represents a safe Democratic district. She won reelection by a wide margin.
Minnesota Democrats condemned the raid. "Americans see this for what it is," Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, wrote on social media.
"President Trump is abusing his power to go after political opponents weeks before an election." Justice Department policy bars federal prosecutors and agents from timing any action to affect the outcome of any election or benefiting a candidate or political party. The department has historically avoided taking investigative steps against political candidates within about 60 days of an election.
The Justice Department during Trump's term in office has investigated and brought charges against a range of Trump's perceived political enemies. It has charged former FBI Director James Comey, New York state Attorney General Letitia James and Trump's former national security adviser turned critic John Bolton.
It has also investigated Democratic lawmakers and officials. Civil rights advocates have criticised Trump's rhetoric.