Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz warned Thursday that Rep. Ilhan Omar could face the loss of her American citizenship and eventual deportation if federal investigators establish that fraud was involved in her naturalization, suggesting that the recent search of her Washington residence indicates the government may be pursuing a serious case against the Minnesota Democrat.
Appearing on Newsmax’s The Record With Greta Van Susteren, Dershowitz said the decision to execute a search warrant at the home of a sitting member of Congress was particularly significant and raised questions about what evidence federal authorities had presented to the judge who authorized the operation.
“I think she’s in much, much deeper trouble than she is willing to admit,” he said of Omar.
The legal commentator, a longtime Harvard professor and author of Why I Quit the Dems, argued that the investigation could ultimately extend beyond possible criminal charges to proceedings aimed at revoking Omar’s naturalized citizenship.
Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations, an investigative division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, searched Omar’s Washington home before sunrise on October 12. The operation was conducted under a sealed warrant that reportedly identified conspiracy, immigration fraud, and false statements in immigration documents as possible offenses.
According to reporting attributed to individuals familiar with the investigation, authorities are examining whether Omar or her late father provided inaccurate information about her age during the immigration and naturalization process that culminated in her becoming an American citizen in 2000.
Omar has denied engaging in wrongdoing, and no criminal charges had been announced against her as of Thursday.
Dershowitz emphasized that while judges routinely approve search warrants when prosecutors establish probable cause, he believes the circumstances surrounding the search of a congresswoman’s residence warrant particular attention.
Discussing the issuance of search warrants, he said, “usually they’re issued pretty easily, but not against the sitting congresswoman.”
In Dershowitz’s assessment, the authorization of a predawn search involving an elected federal lawmaker suggests that investigators presented a substantial factual basis for their request.
He argued that “there has to be very substantial evidence beyond just a mere probable cause claim.”
The professor contrasted the search with less intrusive investigative measures that federal authorities might ordinarily employ when seeking documents or other evidence from a public official.
“In a situation like this, often you’ll just get a subpoena,” he said, referring to the legal process through which investigators can compel the production of records without entering and searching a person’s residence.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh authorized the search after imposing safeguards intended to prevent investigators from improperly accessing materials connected to Omar’s legislative duties, according to reporting by Reuters.
Those protections are particularly relevant because members of Congress possess constitutional safeguards concerning certain legislative activities and records.
Dershowitz said the most consequential potential outcome of the investigation would be denaturalization, the legal mechanism through which the federal government can seek to revoke citizenship obtained through the naturalization process.
Such proceedings would require the government to establish that citizenship had been unlawfully procured, including through qualifying fraud or material misrepresentation.
“You have to prove fraud,” Dershowitz said, explaining that the government would need to establish wrongdoing by Omar herself or fraudulent conduct by her father in which she knowingly participated.
He suggested that investigators could examine the original information submitted during the family’s immigration process, along with subsequent documents in which Omar may have repeated details now under scrutiny.
Dershowitz described the investigation as potentially “the beginning of a much deeper search” that could end “very, very likely in her denaturalization and deportation.”
His prediction represents his assessment of the case rather than a finding by investigators or a court. Omar remains an American citizen, and no judicial determination has been made that her citizenship was improperly obtained.
The former Harvard professor also addressed whether the passage of time could prevent the government from pursuing allegations involving immigration documents submitted decades ago.
He noted that the legal deadlines applicable to criminal prosecutions do not necessarily prevent the government from pursuing civil proceedings to revoke naturalized citizenship.
According to Dershowitz, “statute of limitations that apply in criminal cases don’t apply in deportation and denaturalization cases.”
He further suggested that if an individual repeatedly supplied inaccurate personal information in later official documents, investigators might examine whether those subsequent representations constituted separate violations.
If Omar continued using allegedly false information concerning her date of birth, he argued, “this could be a continuing crime.”
The investigation has also renewed public attention to longstanding allegations concerning Omar’s previous marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, including claims that the two are related.
Omar has repeatedly rejected accusations that she married her brother, describing those allegations as “bigoted lies.”
During a recent appearance on MS NOW, the congresswoman was asked directly whether she was related to her former husband.
“Not to my knowledge,” she replied.
Dershowitz criticized that response, suggesting that Omar should have been able to provide a more definitive answer about the relationship.
“You’re either related to somebody, or you’re not related to somebody,” he said.
The allegations concerning Omar’s former marriage have circulated for years, but the claim that Elmi is her brother has not been established through publicly substantiated evidence. The reported federal investigation has not resulted in a criminal charge involving that allegation.
Meanwhile, efforts are underway to obtain the court documents underlying the October 12 search.
On October 15, a group of 14 news organizations, including Reuters, petitioned a federal judge to release records associated with the warrant.
The requested materials include the affidavit submitted by investigators to justify the search, which could provide important information about the government’s allegations and the evidence presented to the court.
Dershowitz said public access to that affidavit would be particularly valuable in determining whether investigators have identified credible evidence of serious immigration violations or whether the inquiry is being driven by political considerations.
He said the documents could help establish “whether this is just picking on her because of her political views, as she says,” or whether investigators have uncovered significant fraud that might lead to “not only being thrown out of Congress, but being thrown out of the United States.”
The case has drawn heightened political attention because Omar has been among President Donald Trump’s most outspoken congressional critics, and the administration’s investigation has raised concerns among her supporters about possible political retaliation.
Omar has maintained that she has committed no wrongdoing, while the government has not publicly disclosed the full evidentiary basis for the search.
The eventual release of the warrant affidavit could provide a clearer picture of the allegations under investigation and the legal grounds on which federal authorities are proceeding.
For now, Dershowitz’s remarks highlight the potentially serious legal consequences of a successful denaturalization case, even as the underlying allegations against Omar remain unproven and the investigation continues.
Additional reporting indicates that the investigation has extended beyond the search of Omar’s home. Federal prosecutors have issued more than a dozen subpoenas, including at least one directed to a member of her family, while investigators have also spoken with relatives as they examine immigration records dating back to the 1990s.
According to Reuters, one of Omar’s sisters voluntarily spoke with federal agents. Investigators also seized the congresswoman’s personal cellphone during the October 12 operation.
The Justice Department has pursued an increased number of denaturalization cases during Trump’s second term. Reuters reported that at least 164 such cases have been filed, a sharp increase compared with the historical average of approximately 11 cases annually between 1990 and 2017.
Omar’s attorneys have challenged the manner in which the search was conducted, alleging that investigators failed to observe restrictions intended to protect confidential congressional materials. Federal authorities have maintained that the operation was lawful.
The controversy is unfolding less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, adding to questions about the timing of a high-profile investigation involving an incumbent member of Congress.
While Dershowitz believes the investigation could ultimately threaten Omar’s citizenship and ability to remain in the United States, the government would first have to establish the legal grounds for denaturalization. The existence of a search warrant, even one involving a sitting congresswoman, does not itself establish that fraud occurred.
Omar continues to deny the allegations, and the federal investigation remains ongoing.
