I began this blog before U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) secured a decisive midterm victory and a fifth term. Despite winning, her legal issues persist.
In the coming weeks, we will see how her reelection affects the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into alleged immigration fraud. In fact, Arab News quoted an election lawyer who stated (her) “landslide reelection victory in Minnesota does not protect her from federal prosecution or possible expulsion from Congress.”
DOJ and U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigations or indictments involving three Black women elected officials have attracted widespread public scrutiny and media coverage.
Nonetheless, there has been virtual silence—and even less public outcry--over what some consider politically-motivated--attacks against Rep. Omar, Virginia State Senator L. Louise Lucas, and U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ)
One exception came in late October, when the 175-member House Democratic Caucus issued a written statement condemning the DHS investigation into Rep. Omar’s immigration history as a partisan attack intended to influence her reelection bid.
Otherwise, no press conferences, legal-defense fundraisers, or mobilization by progressive political organizations such as Democracy Forward or MoveOn.
And these women do pay a price.
U. S. Representative Ilhan Omar
Somali-born Rep. Omar says federal agent’s search of her home for evidence of immigration fraud and the publicity surrounding it has led to safety concerns, death threats, and disruption to her personal life. ”She has moved out of her Washington, D.C. home. She told People magazine, “Obviously, I can’t continue to live there,” she said. “So we have to figure out where to move to because our address has been public, and with the death threats that I deal with, it’s no longer going to be feasible to be in that house and have my kids visiting off and on, having people track them.
Property seized during the 6 AM raid included documents, electronics, and her passport.
The investigation focuses on whether Rep. Omar’s birth date was changed in official records so she could qualify for citizenship as a minor after immigrating from Somalia in 1995.
Investigators are also reviewing long-standing allegations that her marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009 was intended to help him obtain a green card. Rep. Omar denies that Elmi is her brother.
The DHS investigation unfolds against a backdrop of President Trump’s repeated racist, but unfounded, claims, that Somali immigrants are “roving the streets looking for ‘prey’” and have “ripped off that state for billions of dollars.”
“We don't want them in our country."
On October 29, the New York Times reported on 2016 FBI and DOJ investigations (during Rep. Omar’s run for the state legislature) into her alleged “… sham marriage with a man suspected of being her brother …”
The feds terminated the inquiry in 2021.
She has had to solicit contributions to her legal defense fund. "For everyone who sent five dollars, ten dollars, twenty dollars, which goes a long way as we fight Trump and his administration." She could incur legal expenses totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A recent New York Post headline, “Campaign to keep Ilhan Omar’s secrets safe includes threats against anyone who speaks out: ‘You’ll be killed … snake’” seems to insinuate a link to the threats despite noting they are … “not officially connected to Omar …”
On October 12, Rep. Omar told the Washington Examiner “… Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced."
LaMonica McIver
In a May 2026, I wrote about the legal and personal consequences for Rep. McIver, indicted on three federal counts of “assaulting, resisting, impeding, or interfering with federal officers” arising from a May 2025 oversight visit to Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark.
She has plead not guilty to all charges and has characterized the prosecution as politically motivated. Nonetheless, in August 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected her legislative-immunity claim, clearing the way for a trial.
Last month, she appealed to the full Third Circuit to reconsider its decision and rehear the case. She could also ask the Supreme Court to consider the appellate court’s decision or let the case go to trial.
Her defense is expected to cost more than $1 million.
State Senator L. Louise Lucas
Eighty-two-year-old Sen. Lucas (VA), president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate and chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee has been indicted by the DOJ for leading what authorities allege was “a wide-ranging criminal enterprise that acquired and distributed large quantities of marijuana and laundered the proceeds.”
She surrendered to federal authorities on October 22 and was released on bond. Her daughters, Lisa Lucas Burke and Theresa Lucas-Lamb, and a grandson, Ryan Eichelberge, who face a mix of those, and other charges, were released on their recognizance.
One of the Commonwealth's most influential Black political figures, Sen. Lucas asserts her innocence: “I grew up under Jim Crow. I’ve seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them. I spent my life fighting back and I’m not stopping now.”
Omar, McIver, and Lucas are the most recent targets of Trump’s administration.
The Others
In October 2026, Trump created a three-person committee to investigate allegations of mortgage fraud against economist Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.
On October 9, 2025, New York State Attorney General Leticia “Tish” James was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia on two counts: one charge of bank fraud and one charge of making false statements to a financial institution.
James’ federal charges were brought by a prosecutor with previous ties to Trump. A federal judge dismissed the indictment after finding the prosecutor's appointment unlawful. Two subsequent grand juries declined to revive the charges.
The Future
According to Ebony magazine, “the Trump administration has developed an increasingly recognizable pattern of targeting Black women in positions of political power. Investigations, indictments, attempted removals, and public threats have become recurring features of a presidency that appears particularly offended by Black women who refuse to be intimidated.”
With Democrats achieving historic majorities in the House and Senate, will the Trump administration have the will or political influence to pursue its cases against Omar, Lucas, and McIver?
Photo of Rep. Omar courtesy of wikimediacommons
