Obama condemns Trump administration's raid on Ilhan Omar's home as intimidation attempt

Former US President Barack Obama stands on stage during the inauguration ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center in June. Source: Alex Brandon/AP/dpa

Former President Barack Obama has characterized the raid on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar as an intimidation attempt. According to media reports, the Trump administration is considering revoking her citizenship.

Following a raid on prominent Democratic US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, former President Barack Obama has condemned the actions of President Donald Trump's administration as an intimidation attempt.

"It is a fundamental principle of American democracy that the government may not selectively target individuals solely on the basis of their political beliefs or their statements," he wrote on the platform X. Yet this is precisely what the Trump administration is currently doing to the congresswoman from the state of Minnesota, he added.

Obama is known for carefully considering which current political developments he comments on. In his lengthy post, he criticized the government's attempt to actively deport the Somalia-born Trump critic — "apparently solely on the basis of the unsubstantiated claim that she was actually already 18 years old at the time of her father's naturalization and therefore not a US citizen."

The Naturalization Age Question

In US naturalization, it makes a difference whether one is older or younger than 18. Had Omar been 18 at the time of her father's naturalization, she would have had to apply for citizenship separately, Obama noted. "However, since she was 17, she was automatically naturalized."

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• Foreign Affairs — Shortly before US elections: Raid on US Democrat Omar — Investigation reportedly aimed at deportation

The first Black US president once faced the false claim, prominently promoted by Trump, that he had been born in Kenya rather than the US state of Hawaii.

Raid on Omar Shortly Before Congressional Elections

Last Monday, federal officials searched Omar's home in the greater Washington area. The action drew considerable criticism, partly because of its timing shortly before the congressional elections, in which the congresswoman is seeking re-election. A spokesperson for the Justice Department told several US media outlets that officials from a Department of Homeland Security division had executed a court-authorized search warrant obtained by the Justice Department. The measure was part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.

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The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials and others familiar with the investigation, that the Trump administration's inquiry aims to establish a basis for revoking Omar's US citizenship and deporting her. According to the report, the investigation focuses in part on the congresswoman's immigration records. Central to the inquiry is the question of whether Omar or her father falsely stated her age as 17 instead of 18 in their naturalization application.

Trump Frequently Attacks Omar

The Black congresswoman is repeatedly subjected to fierce attacks from Trump. Regarding her Somali roots, he has frequently suggested to the US citizen that she should "go back" to Somalia.

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• Foreign Affairs — Investigation against congressional representative: Agents search home of prominent Trump critic Ilhan Omar

Omar herself spoke on X after the raid of an "attempt to target political opponents and weaponize federal law enforcement agencies."

Former President Obama now criticized that the full power of the US government was being deployed against a law-abiding, elected congresswoman simply because she had dared to criticize Trump. The Democrat emphasized in this context that the Justice Department under Trump had also already targeted other individuals whom the US president regards as enemies.

"The fact that any president or administration is prepared to engage in such blatant intimidation attempts should outrage all Americans," Obama warned. For if this becomes the new normal, there is no reason to assume that such actions will stop with Omar, or that future presidents will not do the same.

dpa/doli