Somali-born congresswoman's home raided by immigration enforcement officers

Minnesota Congresswoman Omar is an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, with the two having traded verbal blows over immigration policy.

She wrote on social media that the US government is being weaponised to target a political enemy of the president.

Congresswoman Omar said: "For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns.

"This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced."

Not long after, speaking to supporters in Youngstown, Ohio, President Trump quickly turned to Congresswoman Omar, who was born in Somalia and became a US citizen in 2000, settling in Minnesota, home to a large Somali community.

He said: "She comes from one of the worst countries anywhere on the planet. What a mess they have done...Somalia", which was met with chants of "deport, deport" from supporters.

In announcing the raid, a Justice Department spokesman said: "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."

Homeland Security Investigations is part of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, an appointee of President Trump, said last month "something's gonna happen" in the investigation into Congresswoman Omar's family's entry into the United States.

He told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson: "If we can prove that you shouldn't have been here in the first place, we'll deport you."

Congresswoman Omar, a prominent progressive, represents a safe Democratic district, having won reelection in 2024 by 50 percentage points.

In a statement, US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other members of the party's leadership in the chamber said the raid was "deeply disturbing and raises serious questions" about the weaponisation of the federal government against President Trump's enemies.

Republicans have "relentlessly targeted" Omar, said Jeffries, joined by Representatives Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar.

President Trump's "mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family," they added, and they vowed to "deliver full accountability" for a "rogue abuse of power."

Congresswoman Omar has faced a barrage of political insults from President Trump, who has cast the Somali-American community as a threat to Minnesota in a burst of anti-Somali and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

The Democrat has called the President's focus on her an "unhealthy and creepy obsession."

Civil rights advocates have criticised President Trump's rhetoric toward minorities and immigrants, including when he previously called Somalis "garbage."

Congresswoman Omar has said she and her family have faced death threats, which she attributes to "hateful political rhetoric," especially from President Trump.

Minnesota Democrats also condemned the raid.

Minnesota Governor and former Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz wrote on social media. "Americans see this for what it is.

"President Trump is abusing his power to go after political opponents weeks before an election."

Republican Representative Nancy Mace said: "If the fraud is proven, she should be denaturalised and removed from this country. NO ONE is above the law."