What documents were seized from Ilhan Omar's property by Federal agents

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s lawyers want the Justice Department to return property taken during a federal search of her Washington, D.C., home. They argue that the search was unlawful and politically motivated. The search is linked to an investigation involving alleged immigration fraud, but authorities have not explained the full scope of the probe. The inputs are taken from Al Jazeera and The AP.

What did federal agents take from Ilhan Omar’s home?

According to The Washington Post, authorities confiscated her phone and passport and have served over a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to several of her family members. Her attorneys additionally requested that officials maintain audio and video recordings from the search. Authorities have not provided a full list of the property seized during the search. The investigation has also involved more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including some sent to Omar’s relatives.


Her lawyers are now asking the Justice Department to return the seized property. They also want the department to preserve any audio and video recordings made during the search.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Omar’s legal team called the search “neither justified nor lawful.” The lawyers also questioned whether federal agents followed the instructions given by the magistrate judge who approved it.

The letter, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, accused the government of targeting Omar because of her criticism of President Donald Trump.

“This vindictive, retributive, and politically motivated criminal investigation into one of the President’s chief congressional critics violates Representative Omar’s constitutional rights and threatens the separation of powers,” her lawyers wrote.

What has the Justice Department said?

The Justice Department has pushed back against the accusations, saying federal officials followed the rules. Department spokesperson Emily Covington disputed the claims in Omar’s lawyers’ letter.

“Our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do,” she wrote in a text message Friday evening.

Officials have not laid out the full scope of the investigation. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has suggested that it could involve possible crimes related to Omar’s family immigration paperwork.

Washington U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has also said “there are several investigations going on” involving Omar. Her office is separately looking into issues related to the congresswoman’s financial disclosures.

The timing of the raid has drawn criticism from Democrats, particularly because the Justice Department has historically tried to avoid public investigative actions involving political candidates within 60 days of an election.

Omar has repeatedly rejected immigration allegations

Omar has faced claims about her marriage and immigration status for years. Conservative websites have alleged that she married her brother to commit immigration fraud. She has repeatedly rejected the claims, calling them “disgusting lies” and describing the allegation as “absurd and offensive.”

According to her official House biography, Omar and her family fled Somalia’s civil war when she was 8.They spent four years in a refugee camp, in Kenya before coming to the United States in the 1990s. The family moved to Minneapolis in 1997. Her lawyers say she became a naturalized U.S. Citizen in 2000.

Trump also spoke about Omar at a rally in Tennessee, referring to her as coming from a country of “crime and squalor.” He suggested that Vice President JD Vance and others were investigating her.

After the search, Trump told reporters he had “nothing to do” with it and that it was “really up to the DOJ.”

For now, the main question about what agents took remains unanswered beyond the reported seizure of Omar’s phone. Her lawyers want the property returned and the search recordings preserved while the investigation continues.