Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States (US), has come out to bare his mind on the recent move against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar by the Trump government over her American citizenship.
Last week, Homeland Security agents conducted a search on the Washington DC home of the Minnesota Democrat. The move was a part of an investigation into her immigration status.
Omar was born in Mogadishu, the Capital of Somalia, and relocated from her country due to civil war to the United States (US) as a child with her family.
In his reaction via X, Obama said, the democracy in America does not allow the government to “selectively target” individuals just because of the “political beliefs”, adding, it is “exactly” what the administration of Trump is unleashing on Omar.
The former US President said, Omar was “12” when she relocated to the US, and, after school, she emerged the first Somali-American legislator to be elected to Public Office in America, as well as, win a seat in Congress.
Media platforms in America have reported that, the probe on Omar is connected to her American citizenship and whether she lied about her age when she arrived in the US in 1995.
Also, questions are popping up about whether the age listed on Omar’s citizenship application differed from her actual birth date.
Obama posted: “It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say. But that’s exactly what the Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.”
He also shared “facts” about Omar, and said, she has been one of the “fiercest critics” of President Donald Trump; he added, it is the reason, the Trump administration “singled her out” as a person who should not be in America.
Obama posted: “To understand why this is so appalling, it’s important to know the facts. Congresswoman Omar came to this country with her father when she was 12 years old. Five years later, her father became a naturalized citizen.
“If Ilhan had been 18 at the time, she would have had to apply for citizenship separately. But because she was 17, she became a naturalized citizen automatically.
“Congresswoman Omar went on to graduate from college, work as a community organizer, become the first Somali-American legislator elected to public office in the U.S., and win a seat in Congress.
“There, she has been one of the Trump Administration’s fiercest critics, which has led the president to repeatedly single her out as someone who he believes does not belong in this country.”
The investigation into Omar could result to the Department of Justice seeking to “denaturalise” her, or revoke her citizenship. It would have to prove there were material lies in the process of naturalisation, Lauren Bis, White House Spokeswoman said, as she clarified the probe on Omar is not politically motivated.
Obama posted: “Now the Administration is actively trying to deport Congresswoman Omar, seemingly based solely on the unsubstantiated theory that she was actually 18 when her father was naturalized, and therefore is not a citizen.
“Federal agents have raided her home, confiscated personal records, and seized her phone — all to try and uncover a nonexistent smoking gun from 20 years ago that will somehow make their case.
“Think about that. The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president. And it’s not the first time this has happened.
“Under President Trump, the Justice Department has repeatedly gone after those he considers his political enemies — from the Attorney General of New York, to the former head of the FBI, to members of the Federal Reserve.”
Obama, the first African American to serve as US President, said, Americans should be worried that if this “intimidation” is allowed to become the “new normal”, then, “there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her”.
He posted: “In those cases, the prosecutions either stalled or were dismissed for having no basis in law, and the same is likely to happen in this case.
“But not before Congresswoman Omar’s life has been turned upside down, her legal bills have piled up, and she’s been forced to spend time fighting unsubstantiated charges instead of serving the people of Minnesota.
“The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar’s political views.
“Because if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.”
