Rep. Ilhan Omar denies any federal agency has notified her of a criminal probe, even as White House border czar Tom Homan publicly confirms ICE is conducting an ongoing investigation into the Minnesota Democrat.
Omar told Fox News Digital flatly that the Department of Homeland Security has not reached out to her about any investigation. "No, they have not," she said when asked whether DHS had made contact. The denial came after Homan went on "The Sunday Briefing" and stated on the record that ICE is actively looking into longstanding allegations of immigration and naturalization fraud tied to the congresswoman.
The gap between what the administration says it is doing and what Omar says she has been told frames a confrontation that has been building for months, one that now involves DHS, ICE, the Justice Department, and senior figures in the White House.
Homan did not hedge when asked whether he was confirming an investigation involving Omar.
"I'm confirming that ICE is, yeah, look, I said months ago that there's something that's been reported and needs to be looked at."
He declined to specify the exact focus of the probe or say whether the federal government possesses evidence that Omar committed immigration or naturalization fraud. But he laid out the legal mechanism the government could use if the investigation bears fruit, denaturalization, the formal process of stripping citizenship from someone who obtained it through fraud.
"Denaturalization is a process. It's a very serious process, so if someone lies through that process to become a citizen, and we can prove they, in fact, lied or misrepresented themselves, we can absolutely denaturalize them."
Homan added that denaturalization for proven immigration fraud has been carried out "many times." He offered no case count or timeline for Omar's probe.
The allegations at the center of the investigation are not new. Critics have long claimed Omar married a man they allege is her biological brother as part of a scheme to help him obtain U.S. citizenship. Omar has repeatedly denied the claim. When Fox News Digital pressed her on it, she dismissed the accusations as recycled attacks.
"The right wing has always had this s*** going, so I don't really worry about it."
Omar, a naturalized citizen who represents Minnesota in the U.S. House, has faced escalating federal scrutiny in recent months. Her financial disclosure forms were amended after her reported net worth drew national attention, with one filing initially showing roughly $30 million before being revised to approximately $100,000, a discrepancy that fueled further calls for investigation.
Homan is not the only senior administration official speaking publicly about Omar. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin made his own pointed remarks on a podcast, alluding directly to the marriage fraud allegations and raising the possibility of broader immigration violations involving Omar's family.
"There may be more to this, the whole family migration and possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with.... If we can prove it, that you shouldn't have been here in the first place, we will deport you."
Mullin went further in separate comments reported by the New York Post, stating bluntly: "Something's going to happen." He claimed Omar married her brother to bring him to the United States and suggested the investigation could uncover a wider pattern of family immigration fraud.
Homan reinforced the administration's position in those same remarks, drawing a clear line on equal treatment under the law.
"If someone committed an immigration violation, if someone committed marriage fraud or anything like that, regardless if they're a congressman or not, no one's above the law."
Vice President JD Vance added his own weight to the matter. In May, Vance claimed the Justice Department was looking into allegations against Omar, both the marriage fraud claims and questions raised by her amended financial disclosures. Vance has not provided details on the DOJ's involvement, and the department has not independently confirmed or denied any investigation.
In earlier remarks, Vance was more direct about the administration's posture. He told reporters he had discussed potential legal action against Omar with senior adviser Stephen Miller, stating that the administration believes Omar "definitely committed immigration fraud."
Independent reporting adds another layer. Just the News filed a FOIA request seeking records related to the Omar fraud probe. ICE refused to release any responsive documents, invoking a federal exemption, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A), that shields records from disclosure when releasing them "could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings."
That legal citation is significant. The exemption applies specifically to active law enforcement matters. ICE's use of it suggests the investigation is not merely rhetorical, the agency is treating it as a live enforcement case with records it considers sensitive enough to withhold.
Vance addressed the probe's status in comments captured by Just the News, walking a careful line between confirmation and restraint.
"I don't want to prejudge an investigation. It certainly seems like something fishy is there. If we think that there's a crime, we're going to prosecute that crime."
Omar has consistently denied every allegation. She has said no investigation has been opened by DHS or DOJ and has characterized the claims as politically motivated attacks from the right. But her denials now sit alongside on-the-record confirmations from the border czar, the DHS secretary, and the vice president, plus an ICE FOIA refusal citing ongoing enforcement activity.
On Capitol Hill, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer has called on the Trump administration to release whatever evidence it holds against Omar. Comer wants the material made public so Congress can assess whether expulsion proceedings are warranted.
Comer told the Washington Examiner he believes the administration has access to far more evidence than his committee has seen.
"I think they should make it public. Absolutely, make it public. The evidence that I've seen would show that they would be privy to a lot more evidence than I would have."
Comer's request underscores a growing frustration among congressional Republicans who have watched the allegations circulate for years without a definitive resolution. If the administration possesses proof of immigration fraud, Comer's argument is straightforward: show it, and let the constitutional process work.
Omar has faced a string of controversies beyond the immigration fraud allegations. Police raided her son's apartment and seized firearms in a separate incident, and she has drawn public confrontations at events in her home state, including a town hall incident in Minneapolis that resulted in a federal prison sentence for her attacker.
No criminal charges have been filed against Omar. No arrest warrant has been issued. No formal denaturalization proceeding has been initiated. The investigation, as described by every administration official who has spoken about it, remains ongoing.
But the public posture of the administration has shifted unmistakably. What began as years of outside speculation has now been confirmed, by name, on the record, by the officials who oversee the agencies doing the investigating. Homan confirmed ICE's role. Mullin spoke of deportation. Vance invoked the Justice Department. And ICE itself refused to hand over records because doing so could compromise an active enforcement case.
Omar's response remains what it has been: flat denial and dismissal. She says no one from DHS has contacted her. She says the allegations are political noise. She says she does not worry about it.
Several critical questions remain unanswered. What specific evidence has the government gathered? What is the precise focus of the ICE investigation, marriage fraud, naturalization fraud, financial irregularities, or all three? Has the DOJ opened its own parallel case, or is it simply reviewing material referred by DHS? And if the evidence is as strong as administration officials have implied, why has no formal legal action been taken?
Those are fair questions. But so is this one: when the border czar, the DHS secretary, and the vice president all say the same thing on the record, and the investigating agency invokes active-enforcement protections to keep its files sealed, a sitting congresswoman's insistence that nothing is happening starts to look less like confidence and more like a strategy.
Accountability does not care about party affiliation, or at least it shouldn't. If the evidence exists, the public deserves to see it. If it doesn't, the administration owes an explanation for what its top officials have been saying. Either way, somebody has a problem.
