- Published
US government officials raided the home of Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar this week as part of what's being called a "federal criminal investigation".
asserted
what → publish → part
The search warrant was approved by a court, the justice department said.
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department → approve → court
The nature of the criminal investigation remains unclear.
uncertain
nature → remain → investigation
The search follows multiple comments from officials that cast doubt on Omar's US citizenship, which she received in 2000 after her arrival from Kenya.
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she → follow → Kenya
Omar, who has represented Minnesota since 2018, has said the raid is "the latest escalation" in President Donald Trump's "campaign of political intimidation".
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raid → represent → intimidation
He has denied being involved.
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He → deny → ?
What is Omar being investigated for?
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Omar → investigate → What
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents searched Omar's home in Washington DC on 12 October, while she was there with her husband.
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she → search → husband
The Wall Street Journal reported that her cellphone, notebooks, personal computers and passport were among the items that were seized.
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that → report → items
"This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation," the justice department said in a statement at the time.
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department → say → time
Since then, investigators have issued more than a dozen subpoenas to Omar's family members, Fox News reports.
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News → issue → members
Multiple US media outlets have reported that the investigation is tied to Omar's US citizenship and whether she lied about her age when she arrived in the US in 1995.
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she → report → 1995
Questions have been raised about whether the age listed on Omar's citizenship application differed from her actual birth date.
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age → raise → date
Her marriages have also come under suspicion.
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marriages → come → suspicion
Trump is among those who have accused her of marrying her brother to get US citizenship.
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who → accuse → citizenship
Omar's finances have been scrutinised in relation to her current marriage to former Democratic political consultant Timothy Mynett.
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finances → scrutinise → Mynett
She has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and has called the investigations into her "complete shams".
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She → deny → her
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro has said her office is investigating Omar's financial disclosures.
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office → say → disclosures
Omar's immigration records have been scrutinised in the past by Republicans and, earlier this year, fellow congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina unsuccessfully sought a subpoena for her records.
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Mace → scrutinise → records
How did Omar obtain her citizenship?
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Omar → obtain → citizenship
Mynett told Fox News that Omar came to the US when she was 12 as a war refugee.
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she → tell → refugee
He said he has "no concerns" about her citizenship.
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he → say → citizenship
Omar was born in Somalia before fleeing with her family to a refugee camp in Kenya.
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Omar → bear → Kenya
She arrived in the US with her father and others in 1995 before becoming a naturalised US citizen in 2000.
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She → arrive → 2000
According to US media, the crux of the investigation is whether her father lied about her age on the application, writing she was 17 rather than 18.
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she → accord → application
If Omar was 18 at the time her father applied for citizenship, she would have needed to pursue her own immigration process separately.
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she → apply → process
After arriving from Kenya, Nur Omar Mohamed initially settled with his family in Washington before later moving to Minnesota.
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Mohamed → arrive → Minnesota
He worked as a cabdriver and postal worker.
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He → work → cabdriver
Omar described him as an educator and said he died in 2020 from Covid-19 complications.
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he → describe → complications
According to the New York Post, which cited an Oxford University doctoral researcher, Mohamed "misrepresented himself as a refugee".
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Mohamed → accord → refugee
The Post said he had a decades-long military career, including a leadership position under former Somali President Siad Barre's military dictatorship.
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he → say → dictatorship
Barre seized power in Somalia in a bloodless coup in 1969.
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Barre → seize → 1969
While his supporters saw him as a pan-Africanist who supported causes such as the campaign against South Africa's racist system of apartheid, his critics viewed him as a dictator who oversaw numerous human rights abuses until he was driven from power in 1991.
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he → see → 1991
"[Nur Omar Mohamed] was a full colonel in Siad Barre's military regime," historian and researcher Mohamed Haji Ingiriis told The Post.
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Ingiriis → tell → Post
The BBC has reached out to Omar for comment.
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BBC → reach → comment
Can Omar be deported?
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Omar → deport → ?
The Trump administration has made a concerted effort to detain and deport immigrants suspected of being in the US illegally.
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administration → make → US
Permanent residents and green card holders have also been affected.
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residents → affect → ?
Denaturalisation is where the US citizenship of a person who was not granted it by birth is taken away.
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who → grant → birth
The justice department must file a lawsuit proving the person lied in a material way during their application process.
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person → file → process
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
