US considering revoking Ilhan Omar’s Citizenship, Wall Street Journal reports

WASHINGTON: The administration of US President Donald Trump has launched an investigation into Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s citizenship, examining whether legal grounds exist to revoke her US citizenship and potentially deport her, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing officials and people familiar with the investigation.

According to the newspaper, a key focus of the investigation is how Omar, who arrived in the United States as a refugee from Somalia, obtained American citizenship. Authorities are reviewing her family’s immigration records, while more than a dozen subpoenas have reportedly been issued to various individuals, including some of her relatives, to obtain testimony before a grand jury in Minnesota.

Investigators are examining allegations that Omar or her late father may have misrepresented her age as 17 rather than 18 in immigration documents. According to the report, this could have affected her eligibility to obtain citizenship through her father; otherwise, she might have been required to apply independently.

Omar’s father died in 2020, a development that has reportedly complicated efforts to gather evidence in the case.

Omar has previously denied allegations of immigration fraud, while her office has dismissed the current investigation as baseless.

The newspaper also reported that immigration authorities examined similar allegations during former President Joe Biden’s administration but did not pursue the matter further because of insufficient evidence of fraud.

The reported citizenship investigation comes days after federal agents searched Omar’s home. The US Department of Homeland Security said the search was part of an ongoing federal investigation and was conducted under a court-authorised search warrant.

According to The Wall Street Journal, agents seized Omar’s passport, mobile phone, personal computers and notebooks during the search.

The operation took place weeks before the US midterm elections scheduled for November 3. Omar is seeking a fifth consecutive term representing Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District.

Omar arrived in the United States in 1995 after spending time in a refugee camp in Kenya and became a US citizen in 2000.

She is a prominent progressive Democrat who has frequently faced criticism from Trump and his allies.

However, the newspaper reported that no court case seeking to revoke her citizenship had been filed as of the time of its report.

Revocation of US citizenship requires legal proceedings; the opening of an investigation alone does not terminate citizenship or authorise deportation.

Following the search of Omar’s home, Trump told reporters that he had no involvement in the operation, describing it as a matter for the Department of Justice.