Federal agents searched the Washington-area home of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar early Monday as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, an operation confirmed by the Justice Department.
Homeland Security Investigations agents arrived at the property at about 6 a.m.
HSI is the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
The Justice Department said the agents executed a judicially authorised search warrant obtained by the department in the Washington, D.C., area.
It did not disclose what agents were looking for or provide details about the investigation.
Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press the search was connected to a criminal investigation involving Omar.
They were not authorised to discuss the inquiry publicly. Omar’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, AP reported.
The focus of the investigation has not been officially confirmed.
Fox News, citing a source familiar with the operation, reported that it concerns Omar’s immigration paperwork, which was completed by her late father when she was a child.
The Justice Department has not publicly confirmed that account.
The search follows months of public allegations and political calls for an investigation into Omar’s immigration history.
Vice President JD Vance said in May that the administration would investigate claims of immigration fraud involving the Minnesota lawmaker.
Omar has denied the allegations. In September, White House border czar Tom Homan said DHS was conducting a criminal investigation, though Omar said she had not been notified of one.
Omar, 44, represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis.
Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, she went to the United States as a child refugee and became a naturalised citizen in 2000.
She was first elected to Congress in 2018 and took office in January 2019.
The congresswoman has been a prominent critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
In August, she wrote to DHS after an undercover HSI agent was seen outside a town hall in Minnesota.
She asked why the agent was there and whether federal investigators had monitored other public events involving elected officials.
Federal officials have not said whether Omar was home when agents arrived, what items they sought or whether anything was taken.
The Justice Department has described the case only as an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
