A strong accusation against Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has brought her immigration past back to the center of debate in the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin alleged that the Minnesota politician married her brother to help him immigrate to the United States. He said the matter is being investigated by US authorities and did not rule out the possibility of deporting Omar if it is proven that she provided false information during the immigration or naturalization process.
Speaking to conservative podcaster Benny Johnson on the sidelines of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Mullin was confident in the controversial claim. “We know she married her brother to try to bring him to the United States,” he said, adding that Omar’s ex-husband currently lives in London. According to Mullin, the investigation may not be limited to her marriage to Ahmed Noor Said Elmi, but could also include how members of Omar’s family immigrated to the United States.
"There may be more to this case, in terms of overall family immigration and perhaps some illegal activity related to how they came to the United States in the first place," he said.
The Homeland Security Secretary also left open the possibility that the investigation could affect Omar's status as a U.S. citizen if authorities can prove that she lied about specific things on your immigration or naturalization application. "If you lied about specific things on your application, that's not a statute of limitations. If we can prove that you shouldn't have been here in the first place, we will deport you," he said. However, Mullin stressed that the investigation is still ongoing and that any legal action must be based on evidence and not political motives.
“If we’re going to move forward with an issue, I want to make sure that this is not a political issue, but a real issue, because someone did something illegal,” he said. Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia, became a U.S. citizen in 2000. At the center of the allegations is Ahmed Noor Said Elmi, whom Omar legally married in February 2009. The Democratic congresswoman has repeatedly denied claims that Elmi is her brother.
In 2016, Omar called the allegations “absurd and insulting.” She stated that her relationship with Elmi was short-lived and that they had been separated for most of their marriage. Their divorce was finalized in 2017. The following year, in January 2018, Omar legally married Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi, with whom she had previously had children. Allegations that Omar and Elmi were sibling had circulated for years, initially in online Somali diaspora communities. In 2020, Minnesota-based Somali blogger and activist Abdihakeem Osman claimed that he had known Omar since their years growing up in Minnesota and that she had introduced Elmi to community members as her brother from London. Omar has also denied this claim.
The issue has resurfaced strongly in American political debate in recent months. Both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have made public statements regarding the immigration fraud allegations. Vance has said he believes Omar “committed immigration fraud against the United States,” while Trump has publicly stated that he believes the Democratic congresswoman “married her brother.” Omar has not been convicted of immigration fraud and has called the charges politically motivated. Marriage fraud in the United States is a federal crime and is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250.
