Trump says Ilhan Omar could go to jail or be deported, calls her ‘a disgrace to our country’
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Rep. Ilhan Omar could face jail in addition to deportation, calling the Minnesota Democrat "a disgrace to our country" as she faces a federal investigation into allegations involving her citizenship.
Trump made the remarks inside the Oval Office during his fraud incentive program announcement, responding to FOX Business correspondent Edward Lawrence’s question about whether a problem with Omar’s age could lead to her deportation.
"Well, she could be. She could also go to jail," Trump said. "You know, they keep talking about deportation. No, she could go to jail."
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The president did not identify a specific criminal charge or present new evidence against Omar during the exchange.
"This is just my opinion," Trump added, before calling the congresswoman "a very dishonest person" who "hates our country."
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His comments come after border czar Tom Homan said Omar could lose her citizenship and be deported if investigators prove immigration fraud. Federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., home Oct. 12, seizing her cellphone and other possessions.
The investigation centers on allegations that Omar or her father misrepresented her birth year on immigration paperwork. The disputed timeline concerns whether she was a minor when her father became a U.S. citizen in 2000 and qualified for citizenship through him, or was already 18 and needed to apply separately.
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Omar has denied wrongdoing. She and other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have denounced the investigation as political persecution targeting a prominent Trump critic ahead of the midterm elections.
Speaking Saturday on "The Big Weekend Show," Homan said the outcome would depend on the evidence.
"Of course, if you lie during the naturalization process, there is a process to denaturalize somebody. We’ve done it before," Homan said. "And certainly, if the evidence points that way, that could happen."
Homan said Omar would be held to the same standards as anyone else, while declining to discuss the specifics of investigators’ findings.
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"I’m not going to get ahead of the bureau or HSI, but I’ve been told they have a strong case, and we’ll let the evidence lead where it leads," he said.
During Tuesday’s exchange, Trump also attacked Omar’s criticism of the United States, questioning why she sought to tell Americans how to run the country after coming from Somalia.
"Then she comes over here, and she says that she wants to tell us how to run America," Trump said. "She wants to tell us how to run the United States of America."
He also criticized her assertions of constitutional rights and called her election to Congress "amazing."
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"She’s a disgrace to our country," Trump said.
The president ended the exchange by saying he hoped Omar would receive fair treatment.
"I hope they treat her fairly," he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Omar's office for comment.
Fox News Digital's Max Bacall contributed to this report.