Former US President Barack Obama issued a sharp rebuke on Sunday regarding statements made by Donald Trump's "border czar," Tom Homan, who suggested that the administration could "of course" strip Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of her citizenship and deport her. Writing on X, Obama warned that "the full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president."
Urging Americans across all political affiliations to speak out in defense of the Minnesota congresswoman, Obama cautioned about the broader precedent being established. "If this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her – or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same," he stated. Obama himself previously faced citizenship conspiracy theories promoted by Trump over a decade ago, when Trump falsely alleged that Obama was born in Kenya and ineligible for the presidency.
Obama's public reaction followed an interview Saturday on Fox News, where Homan was asked directly by a host if a federal investigation into Omar could lead to her being denaturalized and deported. "Of course," Homan responded, adding: "If you lie during the naturalization process, there is a process to denaturalize somebody. We’ve done it before. It’s a long, tedious process, but it’s been done before. And certainly, if the evidence points that way, that could happen." Homan's remarks marked the first time a named senior official in the Trump administration explicitly mentioned denaturalization and deportation regarding Omar since federal agents searched her home on October 12.
The October 12 search of the Representative's residence drew immediate backlash, triggering accusations that the Trump administration was using federal resources to target a political adversary whom the president and his allies have frequently criticized. The federal inquiry into Omar, who is the most prominent Somali American in the United States, focuses on whether she or her family violated laws when acquiring citizenship. The investigation was initiated just weeks before the upcoming November midterm elections, in which Omar is a candidate on the ballot.
During his television appearance, Homan also hinted that federal authorities were looking into other allegations involving Omar, though he declined to elaborate further. "I’m not going to go there," Homan said. "I know things, but that’s a question for the FBI."
Omar is a naturalized American citizen who arrived in the United States as a child from Somalia. Her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, who passed away in June 2020, completed the initial immigration paperwork currently under scrutiny. In his post, Obama outlined the timeline of her citizenship, noting that Omar arrived in the country with her father at age 12 and gained citizenship five years later when her father was naturalized, as she was 17 at the time. Obama explained that an individual aged 18 would have had to apply independently.
"Now the Administration is actively trying to deport Congresswoman Omar, seemingly based solely on the unsubstantiated theory that she was actually 18 when her father was naturalized, and therefore is not a citizen," Obama wrote. "Federal agents have raided her home, confiscated personal records, and seized her phone – all to try and uncover a nonexistent smoking gun from 20 years ago that will somehow make their case."
Following the search, Omar's legal team sent a letter asserting that the Department of Justice may be interfering in an election, violating longstanding internal department policy. Unsubstantiated claims from rightwing figures aligned with Trump have alleged that Omar obtained citizenship fraudulently, including accusations that her ex-husband was her brother married solely for immigration status—claims that Omar has firmly denied. According to her lawyers, federal agents seized her phone during the home search and issued more than a dozen subpoenas, including to her relatives. Her legal representatives have demanded the return of her personal property and the preservation of all search recordings.
Omar and her family fled Somalia's civil war when she was eight years old and spent several years in a Kenyan refugee camp before immigrating to the United States in the 1990s. Her attorneys stated that she became a naturalized citizen in 2000, emphasizing in a letter first reported by the Wall Street Journal that there is "no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status."
The investigation into Omar coincides with an expanded push by the Trump administration on both undocumented and legal immigration. Beyond deploying personnel and funding to arrest and deport undocumented residents, officials are pursuing dozens of court cases across the nation aimed at stripping citizenship from foreign-born Americans accused of obtaining it fraudulently. While denaturalization involves a complex legal sequence requiring federal probes and court proceedings, reports indicate that as of April, the Department of Justice had identified nearly 400 foreign-born citizens for potential investigation.
The action against a sitting member of Congress so close to an election raised serious concerns among former law enforcement officials. NBC News reported that Justice Department veterans expressed astonishment over the raid. Peter Carr, a former career spokesperson for the department, noted: "I was astounded to see a search of a sitting congressperson this close to an election. Historically, the department has been very adamant that politics plays no role in investigative decisions they make and they try very hard to avoid taking overt actions that might even have the perception of influencing an election." Following the search of her home, Omar posted on X that she was "ok," adding: "I will not be silenced."
