Ilhan Omar denaturalization talk draws Obama rebuke

Key Takeaways

Obama's post	On Sunday, Oct. 18, Barack Obama wrote on X that the Trump administration is trying to deport Rep. Ilhan Omar because she criticized the president. He called the age theory behind that effort unsubstantiated.
Homan's answer	On Saturday, Oct. 17, White House border czar Tom Homan told Fox News that Omar could be denaturalized and deported if she lied during naturalization. He said that could happen if the evidence points that way.
The home search	Homeland Security Investigations searched Omar's Washington home on Monday, Oct. 12. The Justice Department said the search was part of an ongoing criminal investigation. In the statement NBC News quoted, the department did not name her.
Still unproven	The warrant affidavit and any denaturalization complaint are not public. NBC News reported that the Justice Department has not revealed evidence against Omar.

On Saturday, Oct. 17, White House border czar Tom Homan said Ilhan Omar denaturalization could follow if Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., had lied to become a citizen. Former President Barack Obama wrote on Sunday, Oct. 18, that the Trump administration is trying to deport her for criticizing the president. The Justice Department has not revealed evidence, NBC News reported.

What Obama wrote on Oct. 18

Obama's post on X says the government cannot target people for their beliefs, and that the administration is doing that to Omar. He wrote that she arrived with her father at 12, and that her father was naturalized five years later. He wrote that, had she been 18, she would have applied for citizenship on her own, and that at 17 she became a citizen automatically.

The BBC's account fits those ages. It says she was born in Somalia, lived in a refugee camp in Kenya, arrived in 1995, and was naturalized in 2000. The years do not show the age on the form. Her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, died in 2020 of Covid-19 complications, Omar has said, the BBC reported.

"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. He wrote that agents raided her home, took records, and seized her phone. "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," he wrote.

NBC News reported that he meant Letitia James, James Comey, and Federal Reserve Board members. He wrote that cases against them "either stalled or were dismissed for having no basis in law, and the same is likely to happen in this case." He wrote, "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."

Homan on Ilhan Omar denaturalization

Homan did not say on Saturday, Oct. 17, that Omar had already lost citizenship.

Fox News reported his answer on "The Big Weekend Show": "Of course, if you lie during the naturalization process, there is a process to denaturalize somebody. We've done it before... And certainly, if the evidence points that way, that could happen."

Democracy Now's transcript includes host Tomi Lahren asking about "denaturalizing and then deporting her," and his words, "a long, tedious process." The Guardian reported that line too. Fox's article uses an ellipsis and leaves out "I've been involved with those investigations before."

Fox also quoted him saying he was told investigators "have a strong case," and that "we'll let the evidence lead where it leads."

The search on Monday, Oct. 12

Homeland Security Investigations searched Omar's Washington, D.C., home on Monday, Oct. 12, NBC News reported, citing two people familiar with the investigation. A Justice Department spokesperson told NBC that agents "executed a judicially authorized search warrant" as "part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation." The statement did not name Omar.

Omar wrote that day that the search was "an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement," NBC and CBS News reported. CBS reported that her office said she had "done nothing wrong." The BBC quoted communications director Jacklyn Rogers calling the search "an outrageous abuse of power."

Trump told reporters he had "nothing to do with it" and that "she's a terrible person, but that's really up to the DOJ," NBC reported. The BBC also quoted him calling her a "complainer," and, at an Ohio rally on Monday, Oct. 12, "she's a disaster." NBC reported that a rally crowd chanted "deport."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark, and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar called the search "deeply disturbing," NBC reported. NBC put the search 22 days before the midterms, during a federal holiday. Those 22 days end on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

What the statute requires

Revoking a naturalization requires a federal lawsuit. Under 8 U.S. Code § 1451, a U.S. attorney with an affidavit showing good cause must sue in the district where the citizen lives. The grounds are that citizenship was illegally procured, or procured by hiding a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.

Another part of the statute covers citizenship gained through a parent. If a court revokes the parent's naturalization for concealment or willful misrepresentation, the child loses the status that came from that parent. The accusation is not itself a revocation. The theory he described, that she was 18 and so never a citizen, is not a completed revocation. These reports do not include a petition or a ruling.

A criminal case would be separate. CBS, citing sources, said investigators are looking at possible false statements and immigration fraud. NBC, citing one person familiar with the case, reported on Sunday, Oct. 18, that officials have mentioned conspiracy and false statements on immigration paperwork. The Guardian said Omar's lawyers, in a letter the Wall Street Journal reported first, found "no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status."

Still unpublished are the warrant affidavit, the birth date on the papers, and any complaint. Obama called the age claim unsubstantiated. Homan said denaturalization could follow if the evidence points that way. Neither statement is a court finding.