Ilhan Omar Could Lose Citizenship and Be Deported If Immigration Fraud Is Proven, Says Border Chief Homan

White House border chief Tom Homan has commented that if an investigation proves US Representative Ilhan Omar committed immigration fraud, her citizenship could be revoked and she could be deported. After the search of her home and the seizure of her mobile phone, he said again that no one is above the law.

Speaking on a television programme on Saturday, Homan said there is a process to strip someone of citizenship if they lied in the process of obtaining citizenship, and it has been done before. In his words, if the evidence points that way, it can certainly happen.

Homan also said Omar would be judged by the same standard applicable to everyone; if she has broken the law, she will be brought to account. However, he declined to comment on the specific details of the ongoing investigation against the member of Congress.

He said that more than a year ago he had said the allegations had been clarified and would be investigated, and now an investigation is under way. He also said he would not say anything ahead of the bureau concerned or Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). But he had been told they have a strong case, and matters will proceed in whichever direction the evidence leads.

A federal investigation is under way against Omar on the allegation that while fleeing Somalia in the late 1990s, she or her father gave false information about her year of birth in immigration documents in order to obtain citizenship.

Her father became a US citizen in 2000. At the time, Omar was considered to be 17 years old and, as a minor, she automatically became eligible for citizenship along with her father under US law. But allegations have recently surfaced that her age was actually 18 at the time, in which case she would have had to go through a separate process on her own.

Earlier this week, federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations searched Omar’s home in Washington, DC, according to a source familiar with the operation. Her mobile phone and other belongings were taken away at the time.

Omar and other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have condemned the investigation, calling it political persecution against a critic of President Donald Trump a few weeks before an important election.

Asked whether the federal government has grounds for the investigation involving irregularities other than immigration fraud, Homan would not go into that. He said that is a question to ask the FBI; he knows some things, but the question is for the FBI.

Omar’s office was asked for comment but no immediate response was received, according to the report concerned.

Homan’s remarks came on the programme in the context of the investigation into Omar and the reactions of the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to anti-ICE statements by left-wing candidates. He indicated that Omar’s future will depend on which way the evidence of the investigation points.

As a result, the matter now rests in the hands of the investigating agencies. Homan himself has said he will not say anything ahead of the investigation. The evidence, the progress of the investigation and the response from Omar’s side will determine the course of this debate in the coming days.