ICE Denies Claims Made by Rep. Ilhan Omar

The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has dismissed allegations made by Rep. Ilhan Omar from Minnesota regarding an encounter her son had with agency officials. Omar had stated that her son was asked to prove his U.S. citizenship while at a Target store in Minnesota over the weekend.

In an interview, Omar recounted to a local CBS affiliate that her son faced a stop by ICE agents on Saturday. Fortunately, he was released after providing a U.S. passport or passport card, according to her.

However, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons refuted these claims on Tuesday, telling FOX News Digital that the incident in question never took place.

“ICE has no record of any officers or agents removing Rep. Omar’s son,” Lyons stated. He further criticized Omar’s statements, suggesting that they were a “ridiculous effort” to undermine federal law enforcement. Lyons noted an alarming trend, citing that threats against ICE officers had surged, with assaults increasing by 1,150% and death threats rising by 8,000%.

Omar mentioned that her son was on a work-related errand when the supposed encounter happened.

Jacquelyn Rogers, Omar’s press secretary, affirmed to Fox News Digital that they stand by Omar’s account. “The sons of congressmen were stopped by ICE and forced to prove their citizenship with passports,” she said, expressing concern over ICE’s credibility and record-keeping practices.

Amid controversies, Omar also addressed comments made by President Trump, who referred to her as “trash” during a rally in Pennsylvania amidst a growing fraud investigation involving Minnesota’s Somali community. “It’s unsettling that the president would be so fixated on me and my community,” Omar remarked.

She defended herself against claims regarding her marital history, clarifying that she immigrated to the U.S. at 12 and became a citizen by 17. Notably, she had two marriages—one to Ahmed Abdisaran Hirsi and another to British national Ahmed Nur Saeed Elmi.

In her comments to the CBS affiliate, Omar took issue with the Trump administration’s portrayal of the Somali community during the ongoing fraud investigation. “We don’t equate the actions of individuals with the community as a whole. As Minnesotans, we share in the outrage over the misuse of our tax dollars,” she stated, voicing willingness to support any investigation related to potential misuse of funds.