Ilhan Omar raid is Trump's playbook. Stop acting surprised | Opinion

On Oct. 12, less than a month before voters are set to go to the polls, U.S. officials raided the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump and one of the most progressive members of the House of Representatives. This is not a coincidence.

The search warrant, obtained by the Justice Department and executed by the Department of Homeland Security, is "part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation," although the details have not been revealed.

What's surprising is how many news outlets still try to muster up shock in reporting this is unusual, pointing out that the Justice Department does not make big investigative moves within 60 days of an election, as to avoid swaying the results.

It's Trump. We're way past "unusual."

At this point, everyone should be aware that Trump will do whatever he wants. He won't follow political etiquette that isn't codified into law, and even then, he may still try to find ways around it. The public humiliation of Omar is not an outlier for Trump – it's the point of his presidency. It has become the Republican way of politics.

Republicans targeting political enemies is how they do business

Consider how often Trump has gone after his political enemies since he returned to office.

Almost exactly a year ago, a federal jury in Virginia indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James for legal questions around a second home she owns in the state. He went after former national security adviser John Bolton about the same time for allegedly mishandling classified information. The case against James was dismissed, while Bolton was convicted and is set to be sentenced on Oct. 28.

And former FBI Director James Comey was recently indicted for an Instagram post after a different indictment was thrown out last year.

CNN reports that the Justice Department has gone after at least 13 Democratic members of Congress since the start of Trump's second term, while nine of the last 11 Republican congressional members convicted of federal crimes have been pardoned or had their sentences commuted by the president.

This may not be normal, but it's also nothing new. Trump has made it clear that he will use his position of power to go after anyone, whether it be journalists or politicians. As long as you're standing in the way of what he wants, he will unleash a campaign of vengeance.

Trump has said that although he's "always found (Omar) to be totally crooked," he was not involved in the execution of the raid on her home.

It's possible that this is true. It seems just as likely, though, that the Justice Department officials, as part of the Trump administration, is still acting in a way they know the president would want.

The public cruelty of Republican immigration policy

Blatant political retribution aside, the reasoning behind the raid shows just how cruel the U.S. immigration system has become. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin alluded to making an example out of Omar in a recent podcast appearance, where he said the Minnesota lawmaker was on the department's radar.

"If we can prove it, that you shouldn't have been here in the first place, we'll deport you," Mullin said. "And so, we're looking at – it's more than just her case."

Nor is it the first time Omar's family has dealt with DHS antagonization. In December, she told a local Minneapolis news station that her son was pulled over by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. He was let go after he produced documentation showing he was a U.S. citizen.

In August, The Marshall Project reported that more than 610,000 people had been detained by ICE since Trump's second inauguration. ProPublica reports that at least 506 of these instances involved U.S. citizens. What's happening to Omar is an extreme instance of what has been happening to immigrant communities across this country.

Omar has a 59% approval rating among Democrats in Minnesota. If anything, Trump has given her something else to run on. Her resilience in the face of the his administration's pointed attack is going to endear her to her community – especially fellow immigrants who see themselves in her.

It's a miscalculation that will only ensure a bigger election blue wave come November.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ilhan Omar raid is Trump's playbook. Stop acting surprised | Opinion

Reporting by Sara Pequeño, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published October 14, 2026 at 1:04 AM.