Journalists and legal experts reacted with disgust Monday to the federal raid on the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), with several arguing that the criminal probe shattered a critical, longstanding norm.
“The Trump [Justice Department] tears up yet another long-standing policy/norm, this one of refusing to take actions like this before an election,” noted Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, an immigration attorney and senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.
“[Attorney General Todd] Blanche, when he was Trump's lawyer, argued that so long as a candidacy was declared, no such action should occur. Now, it's 3 weeks from an election.”
Federal agents executed a search warrant early Monday on Omar’s home in Washington, D.C., as part of a criminal investigation, but “provided no other details,” the Associated Press reported.
President Donald Trump has previously alleged, without evidence, that Omar, a U.S. citizen, was in the country “illegally,” and that she should be thrown “the hell out.” Such claims have led to speculation that the raid and related criminal probe were related to Omar’s citizenship status, though Reichlin-Melnick argued such a case would be on shaky legal ground.
“An important bit of immigration law relevant here; Section 212(k) of the INA already creates a waiver by which immigrants who obtain status through fraud that they didn't know about can avoid consequences like losing a green card,” he wrote in a follow-up post on social media. “So this is *even weaker* than it already seems.”
Joyce Vance, legal expert and former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, argued that the raid represented “another hard norm out the window” given its proximity to the midterms next month. Writer Jim Stewartson, in response to the raid, called the Trump administration a “sick racist regime,” and journalist Mikey Smith of the Daily Mirror similarly called the raid “racist political intimidation.”
“Raiding a member of congress's home to search for immigration paperwork filled out decades ago by her now-deceased father really checks all the fascist police state boxes,” wrote Tommy Vietor, former Obama administration official and podcaster.
The Trump DOJ tears up yet another long-standing policy/norm, this one of refusing to take actions like this before an election. Blanche, when he was Trump's lawyer, argued that so long as a candidacy was declared, no such action should occur.Now, it's 3 weeks from an election.
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) October 12, 2026