“No surprise that an agency known for disappearing people also can’t keep its records straight,” Omar’s office said.
By Sharon Zhang ,
December 16, 2025
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) walks towards the U.S. Capitol Building on December 10, 2025 in Washington, D.C.Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) has hit back at the Trump administration’s “rogue” immigration enforcement campaign after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused her of lying about agents apprehending her son last week.
In a post on X on Tuesday, DHS said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has “absolutely ZERO record of its officers or agents pulling over Congresswoman Omar’s son.”
“With no evidence, it is shameful that Congresswoman Omar would level accusations to demonize ICE as part of a PR stunt. Allegations that ICE engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE,” the agency said.
Omar’s office lambasted ICE in response to the accusation. “ICE has long operated as a rogue agency beyond reform. It’s no surprise that an agency known for disappearing people also can’t keep its records straight,” her office said. “ICE now claims it has records of all the stops, and our office would welcome the opportunity to review them.”
In an interview with local CBS affiliate WCCO on Sunday, Omar said that her son, who was born in the U.S., was pulled over by ICE agents the previous day, after a trip to Target.
She said that agents let him go after he showed them his passport ID, which he carries in case he’s apprehended by ICE agents.
This happened after ICE agents had already appeared at the mosque where he was praying, and then at a restaurant where he and his friends went afterward, where agents “just walked around and kind of left.”
ICE apprehended Omar’s son just days after she sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE acting director Todd Lyons demanding answers on the Trump administration’s surge of immigration agents into the Twin Cities, part of which she represents.
In her letter, she noted that the agents storming the city were targeting people based on “blatant racial profiling” while using “an egregious level of unnecessary force” that “appears designed for social media.”
“It is clear to me that this surge came in direct response to [Donald] Trump’s racist comments about Somali people, and about me in particular,” the letter read, referring to Trump’s deluge of hateful remarks in recent weeks, including calling Omar and fellow Somalis “garbage.”
Trump repeated those attacks on Friday, saying, “there’s nothing worse than a person that comes in and does nothing but bitch and comes from a place where she shouldn’t be telling us what to do.” The right has also been spewing vitriolic rhetoric against Muslims in recent days.
Omar has spoken out against these attacks, saying that the president has a “creepy obsession” with her that has incited his followers to violence and calls to deport her, despite her having been a U.S. citizen since she was a child.
Other lawmakers have come to Omar’s defense against Trump’s hateful rampage.“Good for @Ilhan for standing up to Trump’s bullying. While she stands tall, Trump, as always, makes himself look so small,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) on social media Monday.
As we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation, your support is urgently needed. Please make a year-end gift to Truthout today.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) has hit back at the Trump administration’s “rogue” immigration enforcement campaign after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused her of lying about agents apprehending her son last week.
In a post on X on Tuesday, DHS said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has “absolutely ZERO record of its officers or agents pulling over Congresswoman Omar’s son.”
“With no evidence, it is shameful that Congresswoman Omar would level accusations to demonize ICE as part of a PR stunt. Allegations that ICE engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE,” the agency said.
Omar’s office lambasted ICE in response to the accusation. “ICE has long operated as a rogue agency beyond reform. It’s no surprise that an agency known for disappearing people also can’t keep its records straight,” her office said. “ICE now claims it has records of all the stops, and our office would welcome the opportunity to review them.”
In an interview with local CBS affiliate WCCO on Sunday, Omar said that her son, who was born in the U.S., was pulled over by ICE agents the previous day, after a trip to Target.
She said that agents let him go after he showed them his passport ID, which he carries in case he’s apprehended by ICE agents.
This happened after ICE agents had already appeared at the mosque where he was praying, and then at a restaurant where he and his friends went afterward, where agents “just walked around and kind of left.”
ICE apprehended Omar’s son just days after she sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE acting director Todd Lyons demanding answers on the Trump administration’s surge of immigration agents into the Twin Cities, part of which she represents.
In her letter, she noted that the agents storming the city were targeting people based on “blatant racial profiling” while using “an egregious level of unnecessary force” that “appears designed for social media.”
“It is clear to me that this surge came in direct response to [Donald] Trump’s racist comments about Somali people, and about me in particular,” the letter read, referring to Trump’s deluge of hateful remarks in recent weeks, including calling Omar and fellow Somalis “garbage.”
Trump repeated those attacks on Friday, saying, “there’s nothing worse than a person that comes in and does nothing but bitch and comes from a place where she shouldn’t be telling us what to do.” The right has also been spewing vitriolic rhetoric against Muslims in recent days.
Omar has spoken out against these attacks, saying that the president has a “creepy obsession” with her that has incited his followers to violence and calls to deport her, despite her having been a U.S. citizen since she was a child.
Other lawmakers have come to Omar’s defense against Trump’s hateful rampage.“Good for @Ilhan for standing up to Trump’s bullying. While she stands tall, Trump, as always, makes himself look so small,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) on social media Monday.
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