Obama condemns comments by ‘border czar’ that Ilhan Omar could ‘of course’ be denaturalized

Ex-president urges Americans to defend congresswoman, saying ‘there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her’

Former US president Barack Obama condemned comments by Donald Trump’s “border czar” that the Republican presidential administration could “of course” strip Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar of her citizenship and deport her.

Obama wrote Sunday morning, on X, that “the full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.”

He urged all Americans to defend Omar, regardless of their political beliefs, adding: “if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her – or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.” Obama, too, has had his citizenship scrutinized by Trump, who more than a decade ago fueled false conspiracy theories that Obama was born in Kenya and therefore not eligible to be president.