Obama Calls Omar Probe Appalling Amid Federal Denaturalization Investigation

Former President Barack Obama on Sunday called the federal criminal investigation into Representative Ilhan Omar so appalling, stating the Trump administration is bringing the full weight of the federal government against an elected official for criticizing the president.

Obama wrote on X that the administration is actively trying to deport Congresswoman Omar based on an unsubstantiated theory that she was 18, not 17, when her father became a naturalized citizen. Omar came to the United States at 12, and her father naturalized five years later when she was 17, which would have granted her automatic citizenship.

White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis denied the investigation was politically motivated, stating President Trump has not weaponized the Department of Justice. Last Monday, Homeland Security Investigations agents raided Omar's Washington, D.C., home as part of a criminal fraud investigation into her immigration status. Authorities seized records, her phone, passport, notebooks, and personal computers. The investigation, which began under Joe Biden, examines whether Omar lied about her age when she arrived in the US in 1995 or provided untrue information on her citizenship application.

Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor, stated that if untrue information was used to procure citizenship, denaturalization is possible, though the government faces a high standard of proof. White House border czar Tom Homan said federal investigators have a strong case against Omar and confirmed that lying during the naturalization process can lead to denaturalization and deportation.

The New York Times reported that text messages from Omar's sister, Sahra Noor, became important in the case and were shown to the judge who granted the warrant for the raid. Omar has described the investigation as an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.