Ocasio-Cortez Stands With Ilhan Omar After Federal Search of Her Home

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is defending Rep. Ilhan Omar after federal agents searched Omar's home in Washington, D.C.

"For years, the Trump admin has launched slanderous attacks against Rep. Omar," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X on Monday, October 12. "This morning, the administration sent federal officials to raid her home. We cannot and will not accept this unprecedented abuse of power. I stand with Ilhan."

Agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the criminal investigative arm of ICE, carried out the search early Monday. A neighbor told CNN they were woken around 4:30 a.m. by banging on doors, and agents were later seen carrying boxes to an unmarked car. The Justice Department confirmed the search and said the agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. A judge had to sign off on that warrant before agents could enter.

Sources told CBS News the probe concerns immigration paperwork completed by Omar's late father when she was a child, and that investigators are looking at possible false statements and immigration fraud. Attorney General Todd Blanche was personally aware of the search, according to reports, and the department consulted its Public Integrity Section, which handles cases involving elected officials. White House border czar Tom Homan had earlier confirmed a federal criminal investigation involving Omar. Officials have not said what specific charges, if any, may follow, and Omar has not been charged with any crime.

Omar's office said she has done nothing wrong and called the search an outrageous abuse of power. Omar posted that she was okay and that she "will not be silenced." House Democratic leaders issued a joint statement calling the search "deeply disturbing." Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Pramila Jayapal also condemned it. Tlaib called it "exactly what a fascist police state does," and Jayapal called it a disgusting abuse of power.

President Trump told reporters he had nothing to do with the search and that the matter was up to the Justice Department. Asked about Omar earlier, he said officials were looking at her "very carefully."

Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Tlaib are members of the group of progressive lawmakers known as the Squad, and all three have clashed with Trump since his first term. That history is why Ocasio-Cortez framed the search as part of a long pattern rather than a single event.

The timing is drawing attention from both sides. The search came three weeks before the November 3 midterms, where Omar is running for reelection in Minnesota. She first won her House seat in 2018. It is unusual for the Justice Department to take such an aggressive step toward a candidate so close to an election. Supporters of the investigation say no one is above the law, whatever the calendar says. Critics say the timing alone sends a message to voters. What investigators found, and whether it leads to charges, will decide which side is right.

Was this search fair or politically timed? Tell us why below.