House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) should be jailed and deported if federal investigators determine she or her family lied on her citizenship paperwork decades ago. Emmer, the third-ranking Republican in the House and the chamber’s highest-ranking member from Omar’s home state, made the comments in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“There have been rumors for years” about Omar, Emmer said. “If proven true, she should face consequences.” He went further, saying, “I would say first she should probably serve time in the gray bar motel and then get the hell out of here. She should go back to where she came from… [i]f it’s determined that she lied to gain citizenship.”
Omar, who was born in Somalia and fled with her family in the 1990s, is under federal investigation over allegations that she or her father misstated her birthdate on immigration paperwork when she obtained citizenship. The question of her exact age at the time matters legally: if she was under 18 when her father naturalized in 2000, as her supporters maintain, she would have automatically qualified for citizenship as a minor dependent. If she was 18, as some recent allegations claim, she would have needed to go through the standard naturalization process required of other immigrants, such as green card holders.
Because members of Congress must be U.S. citizens to serve, a finding that her citizenship was improperly obtained could call her eligibility to hold office into question.
Federal agents raided Omar’s home earlier this week and seized her cellphone along with other items.
Omar and Democrats Push Back
Omar has rejected the investigation as politically motivated. “Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” she said. “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. I will not be silenced.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and other Democratic leaders have also criticized the probe, calling the raid “deeply disturbing” and suggesting the administration is using immigration enforcement against a political adversary. Omar’s allies have noted the investigation’s timing, coming fewer than three weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, and have called the raid an unprecedented action against a sitting member of Congress.
Omar is a member of the informal progressive bloc known as the “Squad,” alongside Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Emmer Defends the Probe
Emmer rejected the claim that the investigation is politically driven, pointing to the judicial approval required for the search warrant executed at Omar’s home. “That judge had to determine that there was probable cause that a federal crime has been committed,” he said. “And I’ll tell you what, as long as it was Ilhan Omar, it was going to be scrutinized to the very detail.”
He added: “So the fact that they issued the warrant in the first place and then executed it, I mean maybe after all these years, someone is finally going to hold Ilhan Omar accountable.” Emmer also said directly, “I think she is a liar. I think she is a fraud.”
No charges have been announced, and the investigation remains ongoing.
