Agents seized Ilhan Omar's phone as relatives get grand jury subpoenas in immigration probe

Federal investigators took Rep. Ilhan Omar's personal cellphone when they searched her Washington home on Monday, according to people familiar with the case. Prosecutors have also sent roughly a dozen grand jury subpoenas in the inquiry. Several of them went to relatives of the Minnesota Democrat.

The new details surfaced Wednesday and deepen a case that was already drawing sharp criticism over its timing. Election Day is less than three weeks away.

Who got subpoenas

The subpoenas went out Friday for a grand jury sitting in Minnesota, the state Omar represents in Congress. One went to her sister Sahra Noor, a health care professional and author. Omar herself did not receive one. A grand jury subpoena is a demand for evidence and does not by itself mean the person who gets it is a suspect.

Homeland Security Investigations is leading the probe with help from the Justice Department and the federal prosecutor's office in Minneapolis. People briefed on the case say the possible charges under review include conspiracy and lying on immigration forms. Investigators are digging into her family's immigration history, including paperwork filed by her late father Nur Omar Mohamed and questions about her birthdate.

Omar was born in Somalia and came to the United States with her family in the 1990s. She became a citizen through a parent at 17. Federal authorities have looked into her immigration background on and off for more than a decade without filing charges. Because most federal crimes carry a five-year statute of limitations, any case may turn on more recent conduct by her or her relatives.

A judge set limits on the phone search

Seizing the phone of a sitting member of Congress sets off special safeguards. The Constitution's speech or debate clause protects lawmakers' legislative work from review by the executive branch. A magistrate judge in Washington signed off on the warrant only after prosecutors agreed to rules that let Omar and her lawyers screen the seized material and claim legislative privilege before investigators look at it.

Agents also carried boxes of documents out of the home during Monday's search.

Omar denies wrongdoing

Omar has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. After the search she called it an effort to go after political enemies by turning federal law enforcement into a weapon. She said she would not be silenced.

The president said Monday he had nothing to do with the search and that the matter was up to the Justice Department, though he has attacked Omar and Somali immigrants for years. Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday he had no advance word of it.

Questions about timing

Justice Department rules forbid prosecutors from timing any step to sway an election. Longstanding practice also steers agents away from overt moves involving candidates in the final weeks before a vote. Democrats have blasted the search as political. A watchdog group has asked the federal Office of Special Counsel to examine whether officials broke the Hatch Act, the law that limits political activity by government employees.

Omar has represented Minneapolis and nearby suburbs since 2019. She won her primary easily this year and faces no serious Republican challenge in November. The Justice Department declined to comment on the latest steps.