Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar recently revealed that an agent from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was stationed outside her regular town hall gathering in Richfield, Minnesota, last Thursday.
In a letter made public on social media Monday, Omar addressed Michael McCarthy, the interim special agent leading HSI’s St. Paul office, expressing concerns about the event. Omar’s letter detailed how a young woman, seated in a Ford Explorer, seemed out of place as she observed arrivals at a local community center where the meeting was convened. A Richfield police officer found her behavior questionable, prompting further investigation.
The letter explained that the officer decided to check the vehicle’s license plates and discovered they were registered to a different car. Subsequently, the officer approached the woman for clarification.
Initially, the woman identified herself as part of a security team. However, when Richfield Police verified with Omar’s security detail and found no association, she contacted her supervisor. At that juncture, it was disclosed she was an undercover HSI agent engaged in a local drug operation, according to Omar’s letter.
Following the interaction with her supervisor, the woman left the premises, as stated in the letter from Omar.
“Instead of monitoring the area for those who might wish harm to me and my constituents, Richfield Police were required to devote time to investigating why an HSI agent was outside of a Congressional event in a vehicle with mismatched plates,” Omar said in a written statement on Monday. “It also raises serious and uncomfortable questions about the purpose of HSI’s presence outside of my event.”
According to Omar’s letter, the Richfield Police Department said they had no advance communication of an undercover operation from HSI that would have “allowed them to ensure the safety of the officer and the community, as well as support HSI’s broader work to combat drug trafficking.”
WCCO has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment.
Omar said the incident “raises concerns” about practices at HSI and its parent agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She’s asking McCarthy to explain why the agent was stationed outside the community center, how the agency learned of the meeting and what training the agent had completed.
Omar also requested information from McCarthy about any other official events or Minnesota leaders HSI agents may have observed this year.