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The claim instantly made headlines. A sitting member of Congress suggested her own child was targeted by federal officers simply for existing.
There was only one problem.
According to ICE, it never happened.
ICE delivers a devastating response
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons responded directly to Omar’s claim and did not mince words.
“ICE has absolutely ZERO record of its officers or agents pulling over Congresswoman Omar’s son,” Lyons stated.²
Not a partial record. Not a paperwork error. Zero record.
Lyons made it clear that this was not a misunderstanding or a clerical issue. There was no evidence the encounter ever occurred.
Then he explained why false accusations like Omar’s are not harmless political rhetoric.
“It speaks volumes that Congresswoman Omar is leveling this accusation with absolutely zero proof,” Lyons continued. “This ridiculous effort to unfairly demonize law enforcement officers is directly contributing to more than 1,150% increase in assaults and 8,000% increase in death threats against my officers and agents.”³
Those numbers are not theoretical. They represent ICE agents who are being attacked in the real world while politicians smear them on television.
Omar doubles down instead of backing off
After ICE publicly contradicted her account, Omar had an opportunity to clarify or correct the record.
She did neither.
Her office issued a statement that escalated the accusations even further.
“The congresswoman’s son and others were pulled over by ICE, racially profiled, and forced to prove their citizenship with a passport,” Omar’s spokeswoman said.⁴
When ICE reiterated that no such stop was documented, the response grew even more extreme.
“ICE has long operated as a rogue agency beyond reform,” the spokeswoman added. “It’s no surprise that an agency known for disappearing people also can’t keep its records straight.”⁵
The implication was clear. If evidence contradicts the story, then the evidence must be corrupt.
This tactic is familiar. Make a serious allegation. Secure sympathetic coverage. Then discredit anyone who challenges the claim.
The narrative was already prepared in advance
Days before the alleged Target incident, Omar had already accused ICE leadership of misconduct.
She sent a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Todd Lyons accusing agents in Minnesota of racial profiling and excessive force.⁶
“It is clear to me that this surge came in direct response to Trump’s racist comments about Somali people, and about me in particular,” Omar wrote.⁷
According to Omar, federal enforcement activity in Minnesota is not about crime, fraud, or immigration law. It is all personal.
What Omar leaves out of the conversation
Minnesota has been at the center of one of the largest welfare fraud scandals in U.S. history.
Roughly $1 billion in state welfare funds were siphoned off through fraudulent nonprofit organizations, with many defendants identified as illegal immigrants from Somalia.⁸
The Manhattan Institute found evidence that portions of those stolen funds were sent overseas and may have supported terrorist organizations in Somalia.
These are not minor paperwork issues. They are massive financial crimes involving taxpayer money.
Yet Omar rarely mentions this context when accusing ICE of racial profiling.
Media outrage points in the wrong direction
President Trump addressed the issue bluntly during a Cabinet meeting, referring to Omar and the fraud networks as “garbage.”⁹
The media fixated on his wording.
What they largely ignored was the underlying scandal that drained hundreds of millions from public programs meant to help vulnerable Americans.
Omar arrived in the United States as a Somali refugee at age 12 and became a citizen in 2000.¹⁰
Minnesota now has the largest Somali population in the country, estimated at about 107,000 people.¹¹
Omar has claimed that “over 90% of Somalis in America are U.S. citizens.” Census Bureau data shows that about 8.4% are not citizens.¹²
That still represents tens of thousands of non citizens, and ICE is legally obligated to investigate immigration violations and fraud.
Facts still matter
ICE agents are not villains for enforcing the law. They are public servants tasked with protecting taxpayers and public safety.
False accusations may generate headlines, but they also put lives at risk.
Omar’s story collapsed under basic scrutiny. Instead of correcting the record, she chose to escalate attacks on law enforcement.
That may work politically. But the consequences are paid by the officers on the ground and the taxpayers funding the programs being abused.
And no amount of narrative crafting can change one brutal fact.
ICE checked the records.
The story was not there.
