The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rejected a viral claim from Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., that her son was pressed for proof of US citizenship by agency personnel after stopping at a Minnesota Target over the weekend.
Omar had told CBS’ Twin Cities affiliate that her son was subjected to a traffic stop-type encounter by ICE agents on Saturday but was ultimately let go without further issue after he was able to produce a US passport or passport card.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons pushed back on the assertion on Tuesday, telling Fox News Digital the incident never happened.
“ICE has absolutely zero record of its officers or agents pulling over Congresswoman Omar’s son,” Lyons said.
“It speaks volumes that Congresswoman Omar is leveling this accusation with absolutely zero proof.”
Lyons called Omar’s comments to the local outlet a “ridiculous effort” to demonize federal law enforcement. He also said her rhetoric contributes to a spike in threats against ICE personnel, citing a 1,150% increase in assaults and an 8,000% increase in death threats.
Omar, who has three children, said her son had gone out for an errand when ICE purportedly made contact.
Omar spokesperson Jacklyn Rogers told Fox News Digital the Democratic lawmaker stands by her account of the situation.
“The congresswoman’s son and others were pulled over by ICE, racially profiled, and forced to prove their citizenship with a passport,” Rogers said.
“ICE has long operated as a rogue agency beyond reform. It’s no surprise that an agency known for disappearing people also can’t keep its records straight. ICE now claims it has records of all the stops, and our office would welcome the opportunity to review them.”
Omar also responded to President Donald Trump calling her “garbage” amid a burgeoning fraud scandal involving Minnesota’s Somali community and officials in St. Paul. Omar said it is “really disturbing and creepy to have the President of the United States be obsessed with you and those who share your ethnicity.”
She also rebuked claims Trump made at a rally near Swiftwater, Pennsylvania, last week that she had married her brother to help obtain US citizenship.
“Everybody knows I came to the United States at the age of 12; gained my citizenship at the age of 17,” Omar said.
Omar first entered a religious marriage with Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi in 2002 and had two children before they separated. She then married British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009, separated in 2011, reunited with Hirsi in 2012, and — after legally divorcing Elmi in 2017 — legally married Hirsi in 2018 until their separation, according to reports. She is currently married to her longtime political consultant, Timothy Mynett.
In remarks to the CBS affiliate, Omar also criticized the Trump administration for villainizing Somalis amid the fraud scandal.
“Here in the United States, we don’t blame the crimes of an individual on a whole community. We are, as Minnesotans, also outraged by the fact that our tax dollars were defrauded,” Omar said, telling the CBS affiliate she supports any investigation into whether Minnesota state funds have ended up in the hands of East African terror group Al-Shabab.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkiewicz contributed to this report.
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