ICE raids home of Democratic US congresswoman

US authorities have conducted a pre-dawn raid on the Washington-area home of Democratic US representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump who has been the target of political insults by the Republican president.

A person familiar with the investigation said it was related to alleged immigration fraud, and part of the probe concerned the Somali-born politician’s immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her late father when she was a child.

The raid was carried out a little more than three weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, when Trump’s party will be trying to defend its narrow majorities in the US Congress. Speaking outside a US military air base, Donald Trump told reporters officials were looking “very carefully” into Ms Omar after the raid. He said the congresswoman was a “complainer” from a “non-country” before departing for Ohio, where he will host a rally.

Ms Omar called the search an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponise federal law enforcement”. Minnesota Democrats also condemned the raid, with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz criticizing Trump for abusing his power to go after political opponents weeks before an election.