NEW: WSJ Report Confirms Ilhan Omar Is In Danger Of Losing Her Citizenship
Federal authorities are examining the immigration history of Rep. Ilhan Omar, (D-MN), with the investigation aimed at building a case to revoke her U.S. citizenship, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the probe.
The multipronged inquiry focuses on how Omar obtained citizenship after arriving in the United States from Somalia.
Her late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, brought her and other family members from a refugee camp in Kenya in 1995. Investigators are reviewing the actions of both Omar and her father regarding immigration paperwork, particularly whether her birth date was misstated so that she would qualify for derivative citizenship as a minor when her father naturalized in 2000.
Under the rules then in effect, an unmarried permanent resident under 18 could derive citizenship through a parent’s naturalization if certain conditions were met. Omar has said she became a citizen before turning 18 through that process.
On Monday, agents with Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, executed a search warrant at Omar’s Washington, D.C.-area residence. Agents seized electronic devices, including her cellphone and personal computers, along with notebooks and her passport.
POLL: Should Ilhan Omar Be Deported If Found Guilty Of Immigration Fraud?
The federal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar aims to build a case to strip her of her U.S. citizenship and ultimately deport her, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the probe https://t.co/hrXesY9lL0 via @WSJ
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) October 15, 2026
Authorities have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to relatives, as part of a review of the family’s immigration records by a grand jury in Minnesota. Possible outcomes under discussion include fraud-related charges such as false statements, or civil denaturalization proceedings.
Criminal denaturalization carries a 10-year statute of limitations, while civil denaturalization does not. The Justice Department under the Trump Administration has prioritized denaturalization cases involving allegations of material misrepresentations on citizenship applications.
The inquiry coincides with reporting on adjustments to Omar’s recorded birth year in public records. According to a report from the New York Post, which cited emails and library records, stated that in May 2019 — just months after Omar took office following her 2018 election — her congressional staff contacted the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library to request a change in her listed birth year from 1981 to 1982.
“On May 17, 2019, Library staff were informed by Rep. Omar’s congressional staff that her birth year was incorrect and requested that we change it to 1982,” the library director wrote in a May 24, 2019, email. The same email noted that staff were working to update the year on Wikipedia and in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
The library had previously listed the 1981 year because it appeared in widely available sources such as Wikipedia and the Biographical Directory, without supporting documentation. The request followed circulation of a video by a political opponent questioning Omar’s age. Official congressional biographical materials now list her birth date as Oct. 4, 1982.
A 1981 birth year would have placed her at 18 or older in 2000, potentially affecting eligibility for automatic derivative citizenship.
Denaturalization requires the Justice Department to file a case in federal court and prove that citizenship was obtained through willful misrepresentation of a material fact. Omar has denied wrong-doing, and has described the probe as an example of political targeting on the part of the Trump Administration.