Trump on Omar Deportation: 'I Don't Take a Position'

President Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his attacks on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, labeling her a "terrible person" and "terrible congresswoman" while stating he does not "take a position" on whether she should be deported. The comments come after federal authorities searched Omar's Washington, D.C.-area residence as part of an ongoing investigation into her immigration paperwork.

Omar, who was born in Somalia and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000, has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. She was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, becoming the first Somali-American in Congress.

"I don't think she loves our country at all," Trump told reporters as he departed the White House. "But I don't take a position."

This is not the first time Trump has targeted Omar. Earlier this year, he posted on social media that she "should be in jail" and "sent back to Somalia." During a rally in Ohio on Monday night, Trump referred to Omar as a "disaster," remarking that she "comes in from a country without laws, without police, without military, where all they do is shoot each other. And she comes into our country, and she says, 'I have a constitutional right.'"

Trump has a history of criticizing Somali immigrants, having previously described them as "garbage" and stating he did not want them in the United States. These past comments drew significant backlash.

The investigation into Omar's immigration paperwork comes less than a month before the midterm elections, in which she is seeking reelection. Early voting in Minnesota is set to begin later this week, and the Justice Department has a practice of advising prosecutors against overt investigative steps against members of Congress or candidates within 60 days of an election.

Omar released a statement on social media Monday, characterizing the search of her residence as "an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement." She asserted, "I will not be silenced."

Vice President JD Vance stated Tuesday that he had no advance notice of the search. "We try to run our Department of Justice in a fair and honest way," Vance said. "We try to let the law follow the facts rather than creating facts just to prosecute people we don't like. And because of that, I think the president and I largely try to stay out of Department of Justice investigations and other prosecutions." Vance added that "we're going to look into" the allegations against Omar, stating, "If there's a real case there, we're going to follow the facts. If there's not a real case there, then we won't."

Speaker Mike Johnson commented on the search during a television interview Tuesday morning, suggesting that judgment should be reserved and the legal system allowed to proceed independently of politics. "Maybe the timing's unfortunate for her or others, but this is the legal system, and it operates independently of the political system. So, we do our jobs, and we let the people decide."