Trump’s revenge campaign comes for Ilhan Omar

Homeland Security Investigations outside the home of Rep.

Ilhan Omar on October 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. | Andrew Leyden/Getty Images This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day.

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When life gives you lemons, make it rain.

Or…something like that! On Tuesday morning, Minnesota Rep.

Ilhan Omar launched a fundraising drive in response to the Trump administration’s unusual predawn raid of her Washington, DC, residence.

The raid, which went down Monday, is reportedly part of a criminal investigation into Omar’s immigration history.

The Democratic Congress member was born in Somalia and came to the US as a child, becoming a naturalized citizen in 2000 at age 17.

Omar has since become one of the most prominent progressive voices in Congress and a regular thorn in the side of President Donald Trump, who on Monday called her “terrible” and “totally crooked.” Vice President JD Vance has similarly claimed , without evidence, that Omar “committed immigration fraud.” On Monday, the New York Post reported that the investigation may have sprung from mistakes Omar’s late father made while filling out her citizenship application roughly 30 years ago.

Needless to say, decades-old citizenship paperwork is not the kind of threat to public safety that typically commands the resources of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigations branch. ( That same branch is charged with investigating transnational gangs and terrorists.) And the raid is unusual for another reason, too: By longstanding practice , the Justice Department avoids taking any public steps in investigations involving political candidates within 60 days of an election.

The midterms are just three weeks from now.

This investigation is unlikely to affect Omar in the midterms, however.

In the words of her longshot Republican challenger, John Nagel, Minnesota’s Fifth District is among “ the ‘bluest’…in the country .” The raid may have even galvanized Omar’s supporters, dozens of whom rallied at a Minneapolis park on Monday afternoon.

Some held banners that read “we stand with Ilhan.” Another sign read, simply, “see you at the polls.” Go a little deeper View Link Omar now belongs to an unenviable and surprisingly populous club: political opponents of Trump whom his administration has threatened with criminal indictments and investigations.