Ilhan Omar Claims ICE Pulled Over Her Son As Agents Arrest Hundreds In MN
Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar from Minnesota reported that federal immigration agents stopped her son on Saturday and requested proof of his citizenship. She added that her son “always carries” his passport with him when he is out and about.
Omar mentioned that ICE had previously entered a mosque while her son and others were praying, but they left without any incidents, CBS News reported.
“Yesterday, after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents, and once he was able to produce his passport ID, they did let him go,” Omar said in an interview with Esme Murphy on WCCO Sunday Morning.
After that, she said she “had to remind him just how worried I am, because all of these areas that they are talking about are areas where he could possibly find himself in and they are racially profiling, they are looking for young men who look Somali that they think are undocumented.”
Earlier this month, federal immigration agents increased their presence in the Twin Cities region of Minneapolis and St. Paul to target undocumented Somali immigrants.
More than 400 illegal immigrants have been arrested in Minnesota as part of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiative known as Operation Metro Surge, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Friday, per The Epoch Times.
According to DHS, the operation focused on individuals with serious criminal records. The agency said the enforcement effort targeted people it described as posing significant public safety risks.
The arrests took place amid broader debate over so-called sanctuary policies, which refer to state or local practices that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Minnesota is considered a sanctuary jurisdiction under the criteria outlined by the Department of Justice in an Aug. 5 statement.
DHS said those arrested included a Burmese national convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving force or coercion, a Somali national convicted of robbery, a Laotian national convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child under 13, and an Ecuadorian national previously arrested for assaulting a police officer.
In a statement, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both of whom have opposed ICE enforcement actions, saying their positions have failed to adequately protect residents of the state.
“They let these monsters and child predators roam free,” McLaughlin said. “Thanks to our brave law enforcement, Minnesota is safer with these thugs off their streets.”
The arrests come as immigration enforcement officers continue to face a surge in attacks nationwide.
On Dec. 12, DHS said an ICE officer was attacked by a criminal illegal immigrant in Tullos, Louisiana, who “savagely bit the officer’s hand while resisting arrest.”
Meanwhile, Omar announced that she has launched two formal congressional inquiries into recent immigration enforcement actions by the Trump administration affecting Somali communities in Minnesota and nationwide.
In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Omar requested information about Operation Metro Surge, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement deployment in the Twin Cities area. Omar alleged that the operation has involved racial profiling, the detention of U.S. citizens, the use of excessive force, and violations of constitutional rights.
Omar’s letter cited reported incidents in which individuals who said they were U.S. citizens were detained by ICE agents, a woman wearing a hijab was mocked, pepper spray was used on bystanders, and agents carried out arrests near homes, schools, and a university campus without presenting warrants.
The New York Times reported that roughly 100 ICE agents were deployed to Minnesota as part of the operation.
In a separate letter to Noem, Omar, and several other members of Congress, also sought an explanation for the administration’s consideration of ending Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals living in the United States.
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
