Former President Barack Obama accused the Trump administration of using the federal government against political opponents in a social media post defending Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as authorities investigate questions surrounding the progressive lawmaker’s citizenship.
Obama alleged that the administration is seeking to revoke Omar’s U.S. citizenship and deport her because of her criticism of President Donald Trump. He warned that such action could establish a dangerous precedent.
“It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say,” Obama wrote Sunday on X. “But that’s exactly what the Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.”
Obama’s comments followed a search by federal agents of Omar’s Washington, D.C., home during a criminal investigation into her immigration history.
Sources previously told Fox News Digital that investigators are examining whether Omar or her father committed fraud on immigration documents when she became a U.S. citizen decades ago.
In defending the circumstances of Omar’s naturalization, Obama said, “To understand why this is so appalling, it’s important to know the facts.”
Obama said Omar entered the United States with her father at age 12 and automatically became a citizen at 17 after her father was naturalized.
The former president accused investigators of advancing an “unsubstantiated theory” that Omar was actually 18 at the time. If true, he said, she would have needed to submit a separate citizenship application.
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“The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president,” Obama wrote.
Fox News Digital contacted the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for responses to Obama’s allegations.
Trump has denied any role in the investigation, saying previously that the matter was being handled by the Justice Department.
“I’ve always found her to be totally crooked, personally, but that has nothing to do with me,” Trump said.
Obama also accused the administration of repeatedly pursuing people it views as political adversaries. He cited federal actions involving New York’s attorney general, a former FBI director and members of the Federal Reserve.
“The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar’s political views,” Obama wrote.
“Because if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.”
