Rep. Ilhan Omar called ICE 'state violence' and said 'abolishing ICE is not enough'

The statement is not 100% exact but close enough for a reasonable person (e.g., claimed 70% vs. actual 65%). Learn more in Methodology.

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Confirm that Rep. Ilhan Omar made the cited remarks and identify the source/timestamp of each quoted phrase.

Source summary

The White House published an article on January 9, 2026, commemorating National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day and listing 57 instances in which Democratic federal, state, and local officials criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The piece quotes and links to public statements by governors, senators, representatives, and mayors that describe ICE using terms like “terrorizing,” “Gestapo,” or “rogue,” and alleges those statements have incited hostility toward law enforcement. The article frames the list as evidence of a broader pattern by the political left and includes source links for each cited statement.

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Latest fact check

Evidence shows Rep. Ilhan Omar has made all three points attributed to her, though with slightly different wording and targets than the claim states.

In a December 2025 CNN interview about ICE operations in Minnesota, Omar said ICE "has been carrying out state-sanctioned violence in our communities," describing people being stopped, dragged from cars and detained, including U.S. citizens, which supports the "state violence" characterization though her exact phrase was "state-sanctioned violence."【https://news.grabien.com/story/ilhan-omar-i-join-our-mayor-and-our-senator-in-asking-ice-to-get-the-h】 In September 2025, reacting to an NBC report alleging ICE used a 5‑year‑old autistic child as bait, Omar wrote on X (per multiple news accounts), "This is vile and beyond cruel. Abolish ICE," clearly directing her condemnation at ICE’s conduct and calling for the agency to be abolished【https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vile-lie-trump-official-drills-squad-member-anti-ice-post-attacks-increase】. After an ICE-involved fatal shooting in Minneapolis, on her official Facebook she stated: "It was not 'domestic terrorism.' It was state sanctioned violence. A family will forever live with the pain caused by the admin's reckless and deadly actions. Abolishing ICE is not enough. They must be held accountable," explicitly using the "state sanctioned violence" phrase and saying "Abolishing ICE is not enough"【https://www.facebook.com/IlhanMN/posts/1416842283138412】.

Verdict: Close. Omar did describe ICE operations as "state-sanctioned violence," called ICE’s alleged conduct "vile and beyond cruel" while urging "Abolish ICE," and separately said "Abolishing ICE is not enough," but the claim slightly shortens "state-sanctioned" to "state" and paraphrases her criticism of conduct as directly labeling officers themselves, so it is broadly accurate but not word‑for‑word precise.

Sources

Timeline

Update · Jan 10, 2026, 02:27 AMClose
Evidence shows Rep. Ilhan Omar has made all three points attributed to her, though with slightly different wording and targets than the claim states. In a December 2025 CNN interview about ICE operations in Minnesota, Omar said ICE "has been carrying out state-sanctioned violence in our communities," describing people being stopped, dragged from cars and detained, including U.S. citizens, which supports the "state violence" characterization though her exact phrase was "state-sanctioned violence."【https://news.grabien.com/story/ilhan-omar-i-join-our-mayor-and-our-senator-in-asking-ice-to-get-the-h】 In September 2025, reacting to an NBC report alleging ICE used a 5‑year‑old autistic child as bait, Omar wrote on X (per multiple news accounts), "This is vile and beyond cruel. Abolish ICE," clearly directing her condemnation at ICE’s conduct and calling for the agency to be abolished【https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vile-lie-trump-official-drills-squad-member-anti-ice-post-attacks-increase】. After an ICE-involved fatal shooting in Minneapolis, on her official Facebook she stated: "It was not 'domestic terrorism.' It was state sanctioned violence. A family will forever live with the pain caused by the admin's reckless and deadly actions. Abolishing ICE is not enough. They must be held accountable," explicitly using the "state sanctioned violence" phrase and saying "Abolishing ICE is not enough"【https://www.facebook.com/IlhanMN/posts/1416842283138412】. Verdict: Close. Omar did describe ICE operations as "state-sanctioned violence," called ICE’s alleged conduct "vile and beyond cruel" while urging "Abolish ICE," and separately said "Abolishing ICE is not enough," but the claim slightly shortens "state-sanctioned" to "state" and paraphrases her criticism of conduct as directly labeling officers themselves, so it is broadly accurate but not word‑for‑word precise.
Original article · Jan 09, 2026
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