WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar's home in Washington, D.C., was searched early Monday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators, the latest high-profile incident involving immigration as midterm elections draw closer.
Omar represents Minnesota's 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which includes Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs. She was the first African refugee to become a member of Congress, the first woman of color to represent Minnesota, and one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress.
CBS News quoted sources as saying that the investigation reportedly concerns her immigration paperwork.
NBC News, meanwhile, reported that the search is part of a years-long criminal investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. attorney in Minneapolis and the Department of Justice, and "deals partly with immigration and fraud," citing a source familiar with the investigation.
The search took place roughly three weeks before the midterm elections, with Omar seeking re-election to her seat in Minnesota.
The Democratic representative said on social media that she was fine and called this a targeted operation.
"Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. 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," Omar wrote on X. "I will not be silenced."
Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Omar, a member of Congress's progressive wing, criticizing her political positions and telling her to "go back" to where she came from.
Born in Somalia, Omar and her family fled the country's civil war when she was eight years old. The family spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before moving to the United States in the 1990s. ■