Trump links Ilhan Omar to '$19B Minnesota fraud', says she should be 'sent back to Somalia'

WASHINGTON, DC: Trump linked Rep Ilhan Omar to alleged massive fraud in Minnesota and renewed calls for her deportation to Somalia.

Trump launched a fresh attack on Omar via his Truth Social platform, accusing the congresswoman of ties to an alleged $19 billion fraud scheme in Minnesota and insisting she be removed from the country. 

"There is 19 Billion Dollars in Minnesota Somalia Fraud," he wrote. "Fake 'Congresswoman' Ilhan Omar, a constant complainer who hates the USA, knows everything there is to know. She should be in jail, or even a worse punishment, sent back to Somalia, considered one of the absolutely worst countries in the World. She could help to MAKE SOMALIA GREAT AGAIN!" he added. 

Trump's escalating rhetoric against Ilhan Omar

Omar has been a frequent target of Trump's criticism since her election in 2018. However, he has intensified his attacks in recent months. 

During a December Cabinet meeting, Trump labeled Omar "garbage" and extended his disdain to Somali immigrants more broadly. "Ilhan Omar is garbage. She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren’t people who work. These aren’t people that say, ‘Let’s go, come on, let’s make this place great.’ These are people that do nothing but complain," Trump said. 

He added, "When they come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but b***h, we don’t want them in our country."

At a rally in Pennsylvania later that month, Trump mocked Omar's appearance and background. 

"I love this Ilhan Omar, whatever the hell her name is, with the little turban. I love her. She comes in, does nothing but b***h – she’s always complaining. She comes from a country where I mean, it’s considered about the worst country in the world, right?" he told the crowd, which responded with cheers of "Get her out." 

Trump also alleged that Omar entered the US illegally by marrying her brother. "We ought to get her the hell out. She married her brother in order to get in. Can you imagine if Donald Trump married his sister, if I married my sister to get my citizenship?"

In a separate Air Force One gaggle, Trump suggested immigrants like Omar should return home if dissatisfied. "And yet, she supposedly came into our country by marrying her brother. Well, if that's true, she shouldn't be a congressman, and we should throw her the hell out of our country," he told reporters. 

Ilhan Omar's defiant responses and recent controversies

Omar is a Somali-born refugee who arrived in the United States in 1995 at the age of 12 and became a naturalized US citizen in 2000 through derivative citizenship, as her father had been naturalized.

She has pushed back against Trump's attacks, dismissing them as distractions from his own policy failures. In a December NPR interview, she described Trump's remarks as "vile" and rooted in "racism, xenophobia, bigotry, and Islamophobia."

In November, Omar announced on social media, "To our Somali communities here in Minnesota and across the country: we see you and we stand with you. None of Trump's lawless threats will ever change that you make our state and country great."

Omar recently drew backlash for comments made during a Democratic field hearing on ICE raids in Minneapolis. Addressing Trump-led enforcement actions, she compared the US to authoritarian regimes she had escaped. 

"Those of us who escaped places like that, the one place where we thought we would never experience this, is the US goddamn states. And we should all be ashamed that it is the United States that is allowing for this to take place," Omar said.

The phrase "US goddamn states" quickly raised eyebrows, with conservatives pointing to it as evidence of her disdain for America.

In the past, Omar has responded directly to Trump's deportation threats. "His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs," she once declared.

She reiterated her pride in her heritage in a September post on X. "I am proud to be born a Muslim. I am proud to be born in Somalia. I am proud to have become an American. None of you can change that, no matter how much you rage tweet," Omar wrote.