A one-page memo from a 2019 review of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s immigration records found no problems with the very questions investigators are now revisiting, The Washington Post reported, raising doubts about the current probe.
Three former immigration officials told the newspaper that in 2019 a political appointee pressed immigration authorities to comb through Omar’s records for signs of fraud. Career staff saw the request as unusual. The review examined her background, her family’s refugee history and long-circulating claims about her marriage. Homeland Security Investigations concluded the evidence was too thin, and a full investigation was abandoned.
According to one former official, the officer who vetted Omar condensed the findings into a one-page memo for a senior USCIS official and a fraud detection official. Because of the sensitivity of the matter, the memo was delivered in hard copy rather than by email.
The inquiry returned to public view Monday, when federal agents searched Omar’s Washington home. Investigators are now looking at whether she or her father lied on immigration paperwork about her birthdate and about his military service in Somalia.
The three former officials said both subjects were already reviewed in 2019. One of them said her age could not be pinned down because refugees often arrive from places with few birth records. That person added that her father’s file raised no issues.
“I think her citizenship is solid and there wasn’t any fraud there,” a former official said.
Taken together, the former officials’ accounts suggest the issues driving the current search were examined years ago and did not produce evidence of wrongdoing, according to the Post’s reporting.
Omar’s spokesperson called the probe “politically motivated.” The Justice Department does not comment on investigations. Trump said it is up to the DOJ and that he has “nothing to do with it.”
The scrutiny of Omar extends beyond the search of her home. A senior official said the administration is also considering revoking her citizenship certificate, an administrative step, if no criminal charges result. Separately, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has opened an investigation into Omar’s personal finances.