Ilhan Omar, Democrat and Long LGBTQ+ Rights Ally, Has Home Searched by Federal Agents
Ilhan Omar has consistently supported queer rights while in office. Here’s a look at the search and her LGBTQ+ rights record.
Federal agents descended on Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C. residence early Monday in what authorities have said is a criminal investigation into one of President Donald Trump’s most frequent critics in Congress and someone who has repeatedly been targeted by the president.
It also comes as Omar, a long-time LGBTQ+ rights ally, faces reelection in Minnesota for her seat in the House.
The search of Omar’s house has been condemned by top Democrats in Congress who questioned the timing of the search. The Department of Justice usually follows protocol to avoid any investigation in the last 60 days of an election of political candidates so as to look nonpartisan.
The Associated Press reports that both the nature and scope of the investigation are not clear. However, Trump administration officials have said before that an inquiry over Omar’s immigration to the U.S. has existed. Omar is from Somalia. She’s the first African refugee to be elected to Congress and one of the first two Muslim-American women to be elected to the House.
Omar has also been part of “The Squad,” a group of progressive pro-LGBTQ+ lawmakers.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin revealed last month that an investigation was “ongoing” and it involved whether Omar had lied on immigration forms. He said, “something’s going to happen.”
Vice President JD Vance has also repeatedly said Omar committed immigration fraud, without evidence.
She was 12 when she arrived in the U.S.
Omar blasted the search on social media. In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, she said it was an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”
“For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” Omar said. “I will not be silenced.”
Omar is the latest political target of the Trump administration. Officials have gone after other Democrats or others that Trump has said have wronged him in the past.
“For years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations,” top House Democratic leaders said in a statement, the AP reports. “Now, less than 30 days until the midterm election, his violent mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family.”
The news agency noted that Trump brought up Omar in a rally in Tennessee over the weekend.
In January, a man at a town hall in Minneapolis sprayed vinegar on Omar as she spoke. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
Omar’s LGBTQ+ Rights Record
Since Omar served in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Omar has supported LGBTQ+ rights.
In the Minnesota House, she co-sponsored a bill to ban conversion therapy and has called the practice “torture.”
In 2022, she supported the Respect for Marriage Act that federally protected marriage equality rights.
“The Respect for Marriage Act is a historic step forward in the fight for equality for all,” Omar said at the time. “Today, I proudly voted to ensure the federal government never stands in the way of marrying the person you love. With the passage of this bill, we sent a clear signal that hate and bigotry should have no place in America.”
The Minnesota lawmaker has also supported the Equality Act, which would expand federal civil rights to include sexual orientation and gender identity when it comes to housing and employment.
Omar’s reelection page also features a page dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights.
“People in the queer community are disproportionately affected by the same issues we all experience—lack of access to housing, education, and healthcare; violence; workplace discrimination; among many others. Trans kids in particular have become scapegoats for the Republican Party. I will fight in Congress to uplift the voices of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially when that intersects with other marginalized identities,” a statement from Omar reads on the site.
