EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

African Muslims have been subjected to racism in the United States since before the American Revolution. They were often kidnapped and sold into slavery, ultimately comprising approximately 25-30% of the total enslaved population. This shameful coincidence of racism and islamophobia still haunts the US today, as the Trump administration takes aim at Somali refugee and naturalized citizen Ilhan Omar, a Representative from Minnesota, mere weeks before she is up for reelection in the nationwide midterm election. ICE investigators raided Rep. Omar’s private residence on October 12, 2006, in what critics have described as a politically motivated attempt to intimidate the congresswoman. 

1. The Trump Administration needs to withdraw its investigation into Rep. Omar and issue a formal apology for discriminating against her. 
2. US citizens need to exercise their influence at the ballot box and vote out Trump’s flunkies in order to reclaim the Congressional majority from MAGA and curb Trump’s abuses of power. 
3. The Vice President, Cabinet, and Congress need to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to remove President Trump from office for mental incompetence. 

INTRODUCTION

On October 12, 2026, Homeland Security Investigations, a part of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted a predawn raid¹ on Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar’s home in Washington, D.C. According to the statement released by the Department of Justice (DOJ): “Today in the Washington, DC area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing ​federal investigation.”² A month prior to the raid, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Marwayne Mullin foreshadowed the raid, stating that “something’s gonna happen” in the investigation of Omar’s family’s entry into the United States.³ Representative Omar, in a statement posted to her website, reassured her constituents and well wishers: 

This raid by Trump’s DHS is an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies. For a decade, Donald Trump has relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly putting a target on her back. Now, those attacks have escalated to a pointless federal raid. The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong. No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies.⁴

This political attack on Rep. Omar was preceded by renewed vitriol from President Donald Trump toward Somali immigrants living in the United States, particularly in Omar’s state of Minnesota.⁵ In one of his now characteristic rants on Truth Social, he claimed that “The once Great State of Minnesota is being taken over by Somali Immigrants. There is Violence, Murder, and Mayhem all over the State. The people of Minnesota must fight back.”⁶ He continued, “The Somalians[sic] should not be allowed to get away with what they are doing. They view you as weak and stupid people. Fight back Minnesota, fight back! […] If you need, the Federal Government will come to your rescue.”⁷ The remarks represent an escalation in Trump’s ongoing rhetoric against Somali Americans, whom he has described as “garbage.” He has also tried to end temporary protective status for Somali immigrants, further endangering them by subjecting them to harassment by ICE and DHS.⁸ The remarks also occur while the Trump Administration continues a forever war against terrorists in Somalia that has dragged on since 1992, making it the longest continuous armed conflict in US history.⁹  

LEGAL ANALYSIS

First and foremost, Rep. Omar was not and has never been formally charged with any crimes, either related to immigration or otherwise.¹⁰ She has, however, been a consistently vocal critic of the Trump administration.¹¹ She also happens to be a Somali refugee who became a naturalized citizen around the age of 18, in 2000. Trump has called to deport her, urged her to leave the country, and incited hate against her over the past decade. In January 2026, a deranged man radicalized by Trump’s rhetoric against Omar attacked her at a rally in Minnesota before being arrested and eventually convicted of assault.¹² 

The pretext of the investigation raises some alleged irregularities with the paperwork her father filed to bring her family to the US when she was about 12 years old, for which she would not be liable, even were they to be proven true.¹³ Denaturalization is more complicated than deportation, which is only brought by ICE and DHS agents before immigration judges appointed by the DOJ. While a civil denaturalization petition has no statute of limitations, a criminal petition must be filed within ten years of the violation. A criminal petition must show proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual knowingly obtained citizenship through fraud.  The Supreme Court further narrowed the scope of criminal liability in Maslenjak v. United States (2017), ruling that only an illegal act that played a role in a citizen application may lead to criminal denaturalization. A civil petition requires a lower bar, clear and convincing evidence that citizenship was obtained illegally, but, even according to this lower burden of proof, a simple error on an immigration document would not meet the threshold.

The raid is being criticized as a political stunt designed to silence criticism and even opposition, given its suspicious timing 22 days before the midterm elections, in which Trump’s disastrous and erratic administration will likely damage Republican candidates. The economy is spiraling, prices are soaring, and we are fighting both Iran and indirectly Palestinians on behalf of Israel, while sending Israel billions in military and financial aid. He has substantially weakened the rule of law by harassing Rep. Omar on pretextual grounds.¹⁴ He has similarly harassed other Democrats who stand in his way, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey.¹⁵

The entire charade reeks of disingenuity. Subpoenas concerning the investigation were sent out mere days before the raid.¹⁶ Rep. Omar herself has not been subpoenaed. A source interviewed has suggested that the entire investigation is little more than a fishing expedition to sniff out any wrongdoing that might turn Trump’s increasingly frustrated and economically stressed MAGA and Zionist base against the foreign Muslim woman with dangerous ideas and a better vocabulary than the president. On the day of the raid, Trump criticized Omar for defending the Constitution: “I don’t know what they’re doing with it, but I can tell you this: She’s a disaster. She comes in from a country without laws, without police, without military, where all they do is shoot each other, and she comes into our country and she says, ‘I have a constitutional right.’” 

The problem with Trump’s logic is that Rep. Omar does have rights as a US citizen.¹⁷ The Fourth Amendment right to protection from unlawful search and seizure, for example, as well as the First Amendment. If Rep. Omar is being targeted for her views, which seems extremely likely, she has a First Amendment claim. The search of a home invokes our Constitutional right to privacy, requiring a judicial warrant to be legal. ¹⁸ The judge issuing the warrant must find probable cause, meaning it is more likely than not that the search will produce evidence of a crime.¹⁹ As of yet, the warrant is sealed, but would be subject to review if Rep. Omar were indicted by a federal grand jury in Minnesota.²⁰ If this farce ever makes it to trial, even assuming evidence of illegal conduct were unearthed, Rep. Omar would have strong grounds to suppress said evidence if she can successfully argue that the judge’s determination of probable cause was not supported by substantial evidence.²¹ She also has the right to pursue civil damages if the search was “plainly unreasonable,” which would trigger a Fourth Amendment violation.²² However, due to the doctrine of qualified immunity for public officials, the search must be unreasonable based on clearly established law.²³ 

The most obvious defense available to Rep. Omar is also the most difficult to prove: malicious and selective prosecution.²⁴ The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause protect individuals from criminal prosecution where the primary motive is vindictive, or if others in similar situations have not been prosecuted.²⁵ In Rep. Omar’s case, critics have pointed out that both Elon Musk and Melania Trump, who are connected with Trump and even human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, came to the US illegally and yet have never been targeted. Prosecutors are afforded broad leeway in the enforcement of the law, as the Constitution assigns the Police Power of enforcement of the laws of the land to the executive branch, under the doctrine of separation of powers. If rep. Omar can prove a discriminatory motive or animus, the burden shifts to the DOJ to prove that their motive was permissible.²⁶  

The DOJ itself does have an internal policy of not pursuing prosecutions that could influence an upcoming election, but this policy does not appear in its policy manual, and has been flouted by previous administrations, both Democrat and Republican.²⁷ The investigation began in late 2025, but Omar could still argue that the timing of the raid was suspiciously timed, so soon before the midterms, especially given that she herself is up for reelection.²⁸

As one of the first two Muslim-American women and the first African refugee to be elected to the House, Rep. Omar also has the right, under the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause, to equal protection under the law from discrimination, be it racial, sexual, or religious.²⁹ Given Trump’s incendiary rhetoric regarding Somalis and Omar’s background, she could argue that she is being discriminated against based on her religion, race, and gender. The government is subject to strict scrutiny for racial discrimination, and Omar could certainly make the case that her race motivated the investigation. Because she does seem to trigger the verbally incontinent president to an unwarranted degree. As a Muslim African American, she is an heir to a long legacy of African Muslim enslavement in the United States, and represents two of the minorities most feared by white supremacists: Black and Muslim. Add to that the fact that she is a woman, and her case would be strong. Although gender discrimination only warrants intermediate scrutiny, President Trump’s history of sexism as a private citizen and an elected official is well documented and could get him into trouble if he discriminates against women as a government official. 

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. TERMINATE INVESTIGATION

The Trump administration must end the investigation of Rep. Omar, as it originated in bad faith. In order to shield itself from liability, and to preserve the rule of law in the US, the administration should cease its investigation immediately and issue a formal apology to the congresswoman for their harassment. The responsible parties at the DOJ and DHS, including DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, must be held accountable, either through prosecution or termination or both. 

2. MIDTERM RECALL

The most powerful tool available to the public is the ballot box. Trump’s administration has failed to maintain its own accountability, and in such cases of extreme dereliction, the burden falls on the People to hold the government accountable. Americans must vote their conscience this November in order to restore the rule of law and our most sacred Constitutional rights. 

3. INVOKE TWENTY-FIFTH AMENDMENT

Following orders is not a defense against complicity. The persecution of Rep. Omar represents a small part of a broader trend in the Trump administration toward totalitarian rule. It is incumbent upon members of the administration to break rank and curb the president’s maniacal tyranny. 

CONCLUSION

Ilhan Omar has survived challenges that most Americans cannot even imagine, just to achieve her position in the US. She has served in Congress honorably and demonstrated courage in the face of every attempt to intimidate her. President Trump needs to decide whether he wants to sacrifice what remains of his tattered legacy to a petty vendetta before the voters make that decision for him. He may be the cherry on the sundae, but he still represents centuries of racist rancor toward the literacy, dignity, and sheer grit of African Muslims who dare to resist white supremacy. With any luck, reason and democracy will prevail in November and herald a paradigm shift in American politics. 

Endnotes

1.  McCaskill, Nolan D., Andrew Goudsward and Doina Chiacu, “US immigration authorities raid home of Democratic Trump critic Ilhan Omar,” Reuters, 12 October 2026: 

2.  Id. 

3.  Id. 

4.  Office of Rep. Ilhan Omar, “Statement on DHS Raid,” 12 October 2026: https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/office-rep-ilhan-omar-statement-dhs-raid

5.  Zhang, Sharon, “Trump Openly Incites Race War, Calling for “Fight” Against Somalis in Minnesota,” Truthout, 9 October 2026: 

6.  Zhang.

7.  Id. 

8.  Id. 

9.  Waldorf, Willian, “Exiting Somalia’s War: End U.S. Military Operations,” Defense Priorities, 14 July 2026:  https://www.defensepriorities.org/explainers/exiting-somalias-war-end-us-military-operations/

10.  Reed, Jared, ‘Timing wildly suspicious’ — Unpacking the search of Ilhan Omar’s home, Deutsche Welle, 12 October 2026: https://www.dw.com/en/timing-wildly-suspicious-unpacking-the-search-of-ilhan-omars-home/video-79647732

11.  Burns, Max, “Trump’s authoritarian raid on Ilhan Omar is an attack on the rule of law,” The Hill, 14 October 2026:

12.  Al Jazeera, “Ilhan Omar attacker sentenced to more than a year in prison,” 17 September 2026: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/17/ilhan-omar-attacker-pleads-guilty-sentenced-to-more-than-a-year-in-prison

13.  Wang, Phillip, “Can Trump Strip Ilhan Omar of Her Citizenship? Here’s How the Process Works,” TIME, 14 October 2026:  https://time.com/article/2026/10/14/ilhan-omar-citizenship-investigation-denaturalization-DOJ/

14.  Burns. 

15.  Id. 

16.  O’Donnell, Kelly, Rebecca Shabad, “DOJ issues subpoenas in investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s immigration status, including to her family members,” NBC News, 14 October 2026: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/doj-issues-subpoenas-probe-rep-ilhan-omars-immigration-status-family-m-rcna603444

17.  Goldberg, Erica, “James Comey, Ilhan Omar, and the Potential Targeting of Political Enemies,” In A Crowded Theatre, 13 October 2026: 

18.  Id. 

19.  Id. 

20.  Id. 

21.  Id.

22.  Id. 

23.  Id. 

24.  Id. 

25.  Id. 

26.  Id. 

27.  Id. 

28.  Durkin Richer, Alanna, Eric Tucker, “Agents search Rep. Omar’s Washington home in criminal probe as she vows she won’t ‘be silenced,’” Associated Press, 12 October 2026:  https://apnews.com/article/ilhan-omar-home-searched-8e18c2aea948bd90f4d7a4eb32b9ec3a

29.  Id.