Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons is pushing back on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)’s account that her son was stopped near a Target in Minnesota by ICE agents and asked to prove his U.S. citizenship. Omar’s team says the encounter amounted to racial profiling. Lyons, however, said ICE has no record of any such stop and flatly denied that it happened.
Civil-liberties advocates and immigration experts have warned that immigration enforcement activity under President Donald Trump can be difficult to track, particularly when multiple entities are involved — including DHS task forces, Homeland Security Investigations, local police, or other federal agents. Those overlaps can lead to disputes about documentation, including whether an incident was properly recorded.
Lyons said ICE logs officer stops and that none match the details Omar’s office described involving her son. He argued that the allegation is aimed at painting ICE as abusive.
Lyons said, “ICE has absolutely zero record of its officers or agents pulling over Congresswoman Omar’s son. It speaks volumes that Congresswoman Omar is leveling this accusation with absolutely zero proof.” ICE officials have also emphasized that unverified accusations can undermine public confidence.
Omar’s office has stood by its version of events, saying the encounter occurred and accusing ICE of a pattern of misconduct and lack of transparency. A spokesperson said the office would review any available records, while critics of the agency suggested the incident might not have been formally logged.
Omar’s spokesperson, Jacklyn Rogers, said, “ICE has long operated as a rogue agency beyond reform. It’s no surprise that an agency known for disappearing people also can’t keep its records straight. ICE now claims it has records of all the stops, and our office would welcome the opportunity to review them.”
Rogers added, “The congresswoman’s son and others were pulled over by ICE, racially profiled, and forced to prove their citizenship with a passport.”
