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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Rep. Ilhan Omar could face jail in addition to deportation, calling the Minnesota Democrat “a disgrace to our country” as she faces a federal investigation into allegations involving her citizenship.
Trump made the remarks inside the Oval Office during his fraud incentive program announcement, responding to FOX Business correspondent Edward Lawrence’s question about whether a problem with Omar’s age could lead to her deportation.
“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.”
ILHAN OMAR SHOULD BE JAILED, DEPORTED IF CITIZENSHIP FRAUD PROVEN, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN SAYS
President Donald Trump said Rep. Ilhan Omar could face jail or deportation amid a federal investigation into allegations involving her citizenship. Omar has denied wrongdoing and called the investigation political persecution. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The president did not identify a specific criminal charge or present new evidence against Omar during the exchange.
“This is just my opinion,” Trump added, before calling the congresswoman “a very dishonest person” who “hates our country.”
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Tom Homan, White House border czar, speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
His comments come after border czar Tom Homan said Omar could lose her citizenship and be deported if investigators prove immigration fraud. Federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., home Oct. 12, seizing her cellphone and other possessions.
The investigation centers on allegations that Omar or her father misrepresented her birth year on immigration paperwork. The disputed timeline concerns whether she was a minor when her father became a U.S. citizen in 2000 and qualified for citizenship through him, or was already 18 and needed to apply separately.
HOMAN SAYS ILHAN OMAR COULD BE STRIPPED OF NATURALIZATION, DEPORTED IF IMMIGRATION FRAUD IS PROVEN
Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, speaks to members of the media following a field hearing at the Minnesota Senate Building in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Omar has denied wrongdoing. She and other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have denounced the investigation as political persecution targeting a prominent Trump critic ahead of the midterm elections.
Speaking Saturday on “The Big Weekend Show,” Homan said the outcome would depend on the evidence.
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“Of course, if you lie during the naturalization process, there is a process to denaturalize somebody. We’ve done it before,” Homan said. “And certainly, if the evidence points that way, that could happen.”
Homan said Omar would be held to the same standards as anyone else, while declining to discuss the specifics of investigators’ findings.
HOMAN CONFIRMS ‘CRIMINAL’ INVESTIGATION INVOLVING ILHAN OMAR, SAYS HE KNOWS ‘THINGS ARE GOING ON’
“I’m not going to get ahead of the bureau or HSI, but I’ve been told they have a strong case, and we’ll let the evidence lead where it leads,” he said.
During Tuesday’s exchange, Trump also attacked Omar’s criticism of the United States, questioning why she sought to tell Americans how to run the country after coming from Somalia.
ILHAN OMAR’S TURBULENT WEEK EXPLAINED: THE DUELING PROBES THAT THREW THE SOMALI-BORN PROGRESSIVE INTO CHAOS
President Donald Trump also told reporters on Dec. 12 that Rep. Omar is “very bad for our country.” (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Then she comes over here, and she says that she wants to tell us how to run America,” Trump said. “She wants to tell us how to run the United States of America.”
He also criticized her assertions of constitutional rights and called her election to Congress “amazing.”
TRUMP RALLY CROWD CHANTS ‘DEPORT’ AS PRESIDENT RIPS ILHAN OMAR AFTER FEDERAL RAID
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, in which she blamed President Donald Trump for death threats and attacks against her. (Adam Gray/AP Photo)
“She’s a disgrace to our country,” Trump said.
The president ended the exchange by saying he hoped Omar would receive fair treatment.
“I hope they treat her fairly,” he said.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Max Bacall contributed to this report.