US federal agents have raided the home of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in what her office described as an “unprecedented escalation” by President Donald Trump’s administration against its political opponents.

The search of Omar’s Washington, DC-area home on Monday came weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, when Trump’s Republican Party will be fighting to retain control of Congress.

The Associated Press news agency, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported that agents from Homeland Security Investigations carried out the search early in the morning.

Fox News, citing unidentified sources, said that the search was linked to allegations of immigration fraud involving paperwork submitted by Omar’s late father when she was a child.

No charges have been filed.

Omar, who was born in Somalia, came to the United States as a child refugee and later became a naturalised citizen. She represents a district in the state of Minnesota that includes Minneapolis.

She has long been a target of Trump’s political attacks, particularly over immigration.

‘I will not be silenced’

Omar condemned the search in a post on social media on Monday, accusing the Trump administration of using federal law enforcement to target its political opponents.

“I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” she wrote on X.

“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,” she added.

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The Department of Justice confirmed that agents had executed a court-authorised search warrant but did not identify Omar or provide details about the investigation.

Omar’s office said the raid amounted to an “outrageous abuse of power”.

“The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong. No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies,” it added.

Several Democrats also condemned the raid.

House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whip Representative Katherine Clark and caucus chair Representative Pete Aguilar described it as “deeply disturbing”.

“For years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations,” their statement said.

“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.”

Trump’s attacks on Omar

The operation came just days after Trump referred pejoratively to Omar at a rally in Tennessee as coming from a country of “crime and squalor” and suggested that Vice President JD Vance “and our people” were investigating her.

Hours after the search, Trump told reporters he had “nothing to do” and it is “really up to the DOJ”.

Vance has in the past accused Omar of immigration fraud without providing evidence. In an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, Vance said he and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller had talked about how to investigate her.

“How do you go after her? How do you investigate her? How do you actually do the thing?” Vance asked as he mused about building a case.

Omar’s office had dismissed Vance’s allegations as “fabricated and defamatory”.

Omar, who was first elected to the House in 2018, has said she and her family have faced death threats as a result of Trump’s rhetoric and has called his fixation on her “creepy”.

She is part of The Squad of progressive lawmakers who have endured repeated attacks from Trump, dating back to his first term.

In December, the president called the congresswoman and other Somali immigrants “garbage”, and in February, he said Omar and Palestinian-American Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib should be “institutionalised” and sent back to “where they came from” after they criticised his State of the Union address.

Omar was the first African refugee elected to Congress, while she and Tlaib were the first two Muslim-American women in the House.

Last month, a Minnesota man was sentenced to 14 months in prison for spraying Omar with vinegar during a January town hall meeting at the height of Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, during which she had called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ( Al Jazeera)