New Delhi: Ahead of the US midterm elections in November, President Donald Trump has attacked Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, questioning her loyalty to the United States and suggesting she could face jail or deportation to Somalia.
On Tuesday, October 20, Trump called Omar “a sick and a very dishonest person” and claimed she “hates our country”.
“She could also go to jail. You know, they keep talking about deportation. No, she could go to jail. This is just my opinion,” Trump said, while addressing a press conference at the White House.
Hours later, Omar, who has been reportedly absent from public life for the past few days, uploaded a video message on Instagram, thanking all her supporters for campaign donations. “We are not going to be intimidated,” she added, responding to Trump’s remarks.
She also vowed to continue campaigning ahead of the midterms, saying she would work to defeat Republicans, win control of both the House and Senate, and hold the Trump administration accountable.
Trump attacks Omar over her Somali roots
During his remarks on Tuesday, Trump also made disparaging comments about Somalia, where Omar was born.
“She comes from a country that’s essentially not even a country — Somalia,” he said, claiming the country lacked a functioning government and police force.
“All they do is have people running around shooting each other, then she comes over here,” Trump said, adding that Omar was attempting to tell Americans how to run their country despite coming from Somalia.
“She never even heard the word constitution,” he added. He also called the congresswoman “a disgrace to our country.”
Also Read: US immigration authorities raid home of Democratic Trump critic Ilhan Omar
Federal agents search Omar’s home
Trump’s remarks come after Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided Omar’s residence in Washington, D.C., on 12 October.
According to Reuters, the investigation concerns whether Omar or her relatives provided false information in immigration paperwork when her family arrived in the US as refugees in the 1990s or during the process of obtaining citizenship.
No finding of wrongdoing has been announced, and Omar has denied the allegations.
Following the search, she said on X that Trump had targeted her with “baseless lies and smear campaigns” for a decade, adding, “I will not be silenced.”
Omar arrived in the US with her family in 1995 after fleeing Somalia’s civil war and became a naturalised US citizen in 2000. She was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018 and took office in January 2019. She represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)