Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told MS NOW Wednesday night that she believes the raid on her home was to "intimidate and scare people" away from voting in the midterm elections.
Omar's home in Washington, D.C., was raided by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) last Monday in connection to an investigation into potential immigration fraud. Authorities are probing whether Omar or her father lied on paperwork that helped her gain citizenship. Border czar Tom Homan has said that if the allegations are proven, Omar could be denaturalized.
Omar, who has largely avoided public scrutiny since the raid, gave her first interview on the subject on "All In with Chris Hayes" and suggested that the decision to investigate her was a last-ditch effort by President Donald Trump to appeal to right-wing influencers.
"I think they were like starting to lose faith that these were empty promises, and they had to do something, I believe, to say, 'Hey, look, we raided her house. You know, now you can feel comfortable that we are doing something,'" Omar said. "I think ... whether it’s Metro Surge, whether it is the voter rolls that they’re looking at, whether it’s the door knocks that you just spoke of, that is all to show these people that they’re doing something and to save face."
"Because they made this huge promise that there was somehow this massive ... sort of undocumented people that were voting in American elections and that there is something that they need to go and fix."
"And so they, you know, they’re going to try to gin up this sort of frenzy," she added. "And, I think ultimately their goal is to intimidate and scare people from wanting to participate and vote."
Despite that, Omar insisted that the raid had likely inspired people to vote in spite of the president.
"As I was driving up here today, we were getting calls that people, you know, are just like, there’s a massive line at early voting sites. And a lot of our staff that are, you know, helping people drive to go vote are saying, you know, ‘We don’t have the capacity to keep up with the requests that we’re getting of people who need assistance to get to the early voting site.’ I think it’s doing the opposite," Omar said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Prior to Tuesday night via a campaign video, Omar had not been seen publicly since before the raid on her home, which was first reported by Fox News Digital last week. Her husband, Tim Mynett, has been seen outside the residence walking their dog.
Additionally, Fox News Digital has spotted a campaign aide bringing in food and both of her daughters arriving at the home two days apart.
Trump warned Tuesday from the Oval Office that Omar could be jailed if the allegations against her are true.
"Well, she could be. She could also go to jail," Trump said. "You know, they keep talking about deportation. No, she could go to jail."
EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched a nationwide operation targeting illegal immigrants accused of fraudulently obtaining benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), resulting in multiple arrests, Fox News has learned.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed the operation to Fox News, announcing several arrests of illegal immigrants accused of fraudulently receiving SNAP benefits.
"Illegal aliens who have no right to be here in the first place are the last people who should be using SNAP benefits and other forms of welfare," Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.
"These programs are for Americans only," he continued. "Even non-violent illegal alien crime can still have devastating consequences when they’re defrauding the American taxpayer."
Mullin said those already apprehended and deported by federal authorities represented "just a drop in the bucket," adding that the Trump administration would continue pursuing individuals accused of fraud.
DHS identified several illegal immigrants accused of SNAP fraud, including multiple Haitian nationals.
According to federal officials, Rubstony Junior Theodore, a Haitian national living illegally in the United States, was arrested by ICE as part of the operation. Theodore's criminal history includes arrests for larceny, obstruction of officers and trespassing, DHS said.
Three other Haitian nationals living illegally in the United States — Wilbert Jean Baptiste, Louis Jean and Jhensly Charles — were also arrested, according to DHS.
Elizabeth Povea Rodriguez, a Cuban national living illegally in the United States who was previously convicted of disorderly conduct and arrested on battery and domestic violence allegations, was also arrested, according to DHS.
"These arrests mark the opening salvo in a sustained, large-scale ICE operation specifically targeting illegal aliens who have fraudulently accessed SNAP benefits that American taxpayers fund exclusively for U.S. citizens in need," DHS said.
"Every one of these individuals entered the country unlawfully, then proceeded to draw from a program designed to feed struggling American families, in some cases while carrying criminal records," the agency continued.
Federal law generally bars immigrants living in the country illegally from receiving SNAP benefits, although certain categories of lawfully present noncitizens may qualify for the program.
DHS said the Trump administration would continue targeting alleged SNAP fraud as part of a broader crackdown on misuse of federal benefits.
Violent riots sweeping France have exposed a far-left network of communist groups, labor unions and political activists mobilizing around student grievances, raising questions about whether similar political and immigration tensions could ignite unrest on American streets.
A Fox News Digital investigation identified 50 organizations involved in France's student protest movement and its broader network of supporters and international amplifiers, including communist and socialist groups, labor unions and political parties.
The American parallels extend beyond political rhetoric. Fox News Digital previously reported that agitators at Delaney Hall in Newark used encrypted Signal chats to coordinate transportation, supplies and demonstrations before clashes with federal agents.
Santiago Vidal Calvo, a researcher at the Manhattan Institute, singled out New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, arguing that their approaches to immigration enforcement could move the United States closer to conditions he associates with France's crisis.
"I have absolutely no doubts that if we had Mamdanis or El-Sayeds or AOCs in charge of immigration policy, our immigration landscape would be very different today than what it currently is," Calvo told Fox News Digital.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has made a similar argument, explicitly tying France's violence to the stakes of the 2026 midterms.
"France is descending into chaos because they wanted OPEN BORDERS — just like the socialist Democrats in America," Johnson wrote on X. "What we are witnessing is a chilling warning for all Americans of what happens if the radical Marxist insurgent left gets their way."
Johnson argued that a Democratic victory in November would lead to more permissive immigration policies, casting the election as a choice between the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and the approach favored by Democrats. President Donald Trump similarly posted on Truth Social that "migrants have taken over France," urging the country to "CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!"
The immigration debate is also playing out directly in the 2026 midterms. In Michigan's closely watched Senate race, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed has made abolishing ICE a campaign position, arguing that the agency cannot be reformed. His Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, has sought to portray El-Sayed as an ideological extremist as the two compete for a seat that could help determine control of the Senate.
In New York City, Mamdani signed a February executive order reinforcing sanctuary protections and restricting federal immigration enforcement on city property without a judicial warrant. Both Mamdani and El-Sayed frame their policies as safeguards against abusive enforcement, while critics warn they could weaken immigration controls.
The unrest began with students protesting conditions in France's education system before labor unions, political activists and groups with separate grievances joined the movement. Fox News Digital's investigation found that 15 of the 50 organizations identified in the broader network were student or youth groups.
Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, described a convergence of frustrations over school funding, rising costs, France's stagnant economy and longstanding tensions surrounding immigration and assimilation.
"You've got the simple educational one which is partially economic, you've got the larger economic one and on top of that you have the assimilation issue," Arthur said.
"Now can we see mass protests like this in the United States? I don't think so," Arthur said, noting that protests over urban ICE operations have not escalated into a comparable nationwide movement.
Nathalie Szerman, a Europe-based researcher with the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), pointed to another potential factor: The demonstrations intensified around the 65th anniversary of the Oct. 17, 1961, massacre of Algerian demonstrators by Paris police.
"October 17 is a very symbolic date for the Algerian-ethnic groups," Szerman told Fox News Digital, describing demonstrators memorializing a deadly 1961 crackdown by Paris police on Algerian demonstrators.
"The first protest groups were not ideologically aligned with 'political Islam' but were students from immigrant suburbs, driven by education concerns. Agenda-driven, organized 'Political Muslim' groups used the momentum of the protests for their own ends," Szerman said.
"It's a lot of things together, the resentment towards France and the political agenda," she said.
Alan Mendoza, executive director of the U.K.'s Henry Jackson Society — named for the late Washington Sen. Scoop Jackson — argued that the far-left movement led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon helped encourage broader mobilization ahead of France's next presidential election.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed Mélenchon and his party for the unrest, according to Le Monde, while Mélenchon fired back after Lecornu demanded that LFI "choose a side" between France and the rioters — calling the either-or "detestable."
Mendoza warned that similar political tensions could surface in America, citing backlash against socialist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani from anti-Israel activists who had previously supported him.
"What was interesting was the sight of him being turned on by the pro-Palestinian protesters the other day, when he was acknowledging October the 7th, the loss of human life on his radio site, he was turned on by the very hard left people who had helped propel him to power," Mendoza said.
"What that shows you is that it is very real a possibility at the hard left who are never satisfied and actually want chaos more than anything else," Mendoza added.
Arthur said France's far left can openly champion expansive immigration policies, while American Democrats face a different political reality: They cannot publicly embrace open borders without risking backlash, he argued, pointing to the Biden administration's tendency to portray illegal immigration as a problem it could not control rather than a policy it actively supported.
"Riot is to France what football is to the United States," said Arthur.
Szerman, however, said comparable unrest was possible despite differences between the two countries.
"I definitely think that what's happening in France could happen in the United States," she said, while noting that the more accommodating U.S. education system and different approach to immigrant integration could reduce the severity of any such violence, making a French-style nationwide crisis less likely.
Calvo, meanwhile, warned that adopting more expansive immigration policies without adequate screening and integration safeguards could create pressures similar to those he believes contributed to France's unrest.
"France is in this mess because of the horrible policies they had in immigration over the last years," he said, warning that importing similar approaches could bring unrest to American communities.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani, El-Sayed and Ocasio-Cortez for comment.
Fox News Digital's Ashely DiMella contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: Popular grocery delivery company Instacart has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) after it was accused of discriminating against American workers.
The DOJ's Civil Rights Division says it has reached a $5 million settlement with Maplebear Inc., which operates the delivery service used by Americans to get groceries sent to their front doors. The resolution addresses allegations that the company purposefully discriminated against U.S. and American workers based on country of origin, which the DOJ says violates the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).
The company, according to the Justice Department, was abusing the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) process by placing undue burdens on American applicants by requiring them to physically mail applications to the company, deviating from Instacart's standard electronic application process. The scheme occurred from December 2023 through February 2026.
"This significant resolution marks the 15th settlement agreement the Civil Rights Division has reached under my leadership to protect U.S. workers," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said. "Our record demonstrates that the Justice Department is holding companies who prefer workers with temporary employment visas accountable. We will not stop fighting for U.S. workers until there is a fair playing field."
The settlement was secured in conjunction with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Instacart will be required, under the settlement, to set up a $4 million fund to compensate applicants who may have been wronged, and another $1 million in civil penalties.
The PERM program allows employers to sponsor temporary visa workers for permanent residence in the United States. However, companies using the PERM program are required to make a "good-faith" effort to hire American workers before resorting to foreigners.
Companies cannot create "additional burdens for U.S. and American workers; publishing job advertisements that disfavor, limit, specify, or otherwise discriminate against U.S. and American workers; or use processes that limit, segregate, or classify applicants in any way that tends to deprive U.S. and American applicants of employment opportunities," according to the DOJ.
The settlement is the 15th of its kind since President Donald Trump began his second term in office in January 2025 and is part of a broader effort to ensure American workers aren't illegally discriminated against.
The EEOC has dubbed the mission "Project Firewall."
"Today’s settlement makes clear that when employers erect unlawful barriers that harm American workers, the EEOC will act decisively," said Andrea Lucas, the chair of the EEOC. "The EEOC is committed to holding companies accountable when they deny equal work opportunities to U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders for jobs. Discrimination against workers based on their American national origin has no place in our economy."
"We're proud to be a U.S.-based grocery technology platform, employing thousands of American workers and serving millions of customers, retailers, shoppers and brands. We encourage qualified U.S. jobseekers to apply to join our team," an Instacart spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"Hiring and investing in American workers across our U.S. business is our priority, and we actively promote every role across many channels to ensure qualified U.S. candidates are always first in line for opportunities. While we maintain that our practices complied with all applicable laws and regulations, we’re pleased to have resolved this matter so we can keep our full focus on delivering on our mission for customers, shoppers, retailers and brands."
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