Trump administration inquiry into Ilhan Omar expands with family subpoenas
Federal investigators sent roughly a dozen subpoenas, including to relatives of Rep. Ilhan Omar, as an immigration-related inquiry moves to a Minnesota grand jury.
A federal investigation involving Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has expanded to subpoenas for members of her family, adding a new stage to the immigration-related inquiry that produced a search of her Washington-area home earlier this week.
NBC News reported on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, that investigators sent roughly a dozen subpoenas, including to relatives, and that the requests are connected to a federal grand jury in Minnesota. The New York Times first reported the subpoenas, and Democracy Now separately reported that Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, and another relative received them.
What the new reporting says
The subpoenas were sent on Friday, October 9, according to NBC News. The network reported that Omar herself was not subpoenaed. It also said federal agents want to interview her sister but had not yet reached her as of publication.
NBC News further reported, citing two people familiar with the investigation, that agents seized Omar’s phone when they searched her home on Monday, October 12. That detail has not been announced publicly by the Justice Department, which declined the network’s request for comment. The department has not released the warrant, the subpoenas or a description of any evidence collected.
The network said officials have discussed possible offenses including conspiracy and false statements in immigration paperwork. Those are investigative allegations, not charges. Omar has not been indicted, and no court has found that she committed immigration fraud or another crime.
Investigators are examining matters related to Omar’s immigration history, including her recorded birth date, NBC News reported. Omar was born in Somalia, arrived in the United States with her family in the 1990s and became a citizen at 17 through a parent. The report noted that ordinary five-year statutes of limitation could complicate scrutiny of decades-old conduct, although investigators could examine more recent acts.
Trump officials and Omar give opposing accounts
The inquiry is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis and the Justice Department, according to NBC News. Trump administration officials had publicly discussed investigating Omar before the search. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in September that officials were still investigating and that any case they advanced would be based on alleged wrongdoing rather than politics.
President Donald Trump said Monday that he did not know in advance about the search and that decisions were up to the Justice Department. He also repeated attacks on Omar and said the government was examining her closely. The White House has not released evidence that Trump directed the search or the subpoenas.
Omar called the search political intimidation. In a public statement on Monday, she said the administration was targeting an opponent and weaponizing federal law enforcement. Her office has previously denied accusations that she committed immigration fraud. A spokesperson did not respond to NBC News’s request for comment on the newly reported subpoenas.
Why the subpoenas are a material development
The earlier search established that investigators had obtained judicial authorization to look for evidence at Omar’s home. The subpoenas show the inquiry is also seeking testimony or records from other people and is proceeding through a Minnesota grand jury. A subpoena can compel information or an appearance, but it does not establish that its recipient did anything wrong.
The reported seizure of a sitting member of Congress’s phone also raises a separate constitutional issue. Law-enforcement agencies generally use screening procedures when reviewing a lawmaker’s communications because the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause protects legislative acts from executive-branch inquiry. No public filing shows how investigators are handling any potentially protected material in this case.
The timing remains politically sensitive. The search occurred about three weeks before the November 3 midterm election, while Omar is seeking reelection. Justice Department practice calls for caution with overt investigative actions that could affect an election, though that convention is not an absolute legal ban on action during a fixed period.
For now, the confirmed development is procedural: relatives have received subpoenas, the investigation is tied to a federal grand jury, and prosecutors have announced no charge. The scope of the evidence and whether the inquiry will lead to a criminal case remain unresolved.
Sources and image credit
Reporting: NBC News, The New York Times and Democracy Now. Response: Rep. Ilhan Omar’s October 12 statement.
Image: Voice of America photograph of the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, via Wikimedia Commons, marked public domain. Original VOA file. Cropped to 16:9.