An FBI investigation conducted during Barack Obama’s presidency uncovered evidence that raised questions about whether Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar’s marriage to a man alleged to be her brother was fraudulent, according to a new report.
The Minnesota congresswoman has faced allegations for years that she married British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009 to help him obtain a green card—claims previously reported by Our News Outlet.
Omar has repeatedly denied the accusations, characterizing them as a right-wing conspiracy theory. President Donald Trump’s administration has since opened a new inquiry into her immigration history.
The New York Times reported that FBI and Homeland Security agents investigated the alleged sham marriage in 2016 and found evidence they believed could support a fraud case.
The inquiry ultimately stalled after prosecutors determined that any potential criminal charges would likely have been barred by the five-year statute of limitations.
A separate examination of Omar’s immigration history in 2019, during Trump’s first administration, reached a different assessment.
Three former immigration officials told The Washington Post that investigators found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing and did not uncover issues with her naturalization.
That review considered several of the same questions now being revisited, including Omar’s marriage, her age and records connected to her father’s immigration history.
An investigation conducted during the Obama administration found evidence raising questions about whether Ilhan Omar’s long-disputed marriage to British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi was a sham
Current and former law enforcement officials told The New York Times that a 2016 investigation into the Minnesota congresswoman’s marriage uncovered evidence supporting allegations that Elmi may have been her brother
The marriage application submitted by Ilhan Omar and Ahmed Elmi. A Christian minister officiated the ceremony in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Omar has categorically rejected the allegations and continues to describe the claims about her marriage as a conspiracy theory.
In an interview last week with MS NOW’s Chris Hayes, she called the claim that she married her brother “insane,” saying it began on a blog before being promoted by right-wing conspiracy theorists.
Asked by Hayes whether there was any possibility that her former husband was related to her, Omar answered: “Not to my knowledge.”
President Trump seized on the response during a rally in Iowa on October 22, ridiculing Omar for saying she did not know whether Elmi was related to her.
“She didn’t know whether or not she married her brother. She wasn’t sure,” Trump told the crowd, describing it as “one of the worst answers I think I’ve ever heard.”
He also called on Omar to resign from Congress, alleging that she had used a false name when she was sworn in.
Trump pointed to a Justice Department filing that referred to Omar as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi.”
Investigators are also examining the circumstances surrounding Omar’s family’s arrival in the United States in 1995, including whether her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, provided inaccurate information on immigration documents.
Omar separated from her first husband before marrying Ahmed Elmi in 2009. Source: Ahmed Nur Said Elmi/Facebook
Ilhan Omar (center) pictured as a child. A central issue in the immigration inquiry is her birth year, which appears as both 1981 and 1982 in official records. Her staff changed her Minnesota legislature biography from 1981 to 1982 in May 2019.
Representative Ilhan Omar has said she obtained US citizenship through her Somali-born father, Nur Omar Mohamed, who died in 2020. No naturalization records for Omar or her father have been located
CHECK THIS OUT: Trump Vows to Hold Judge Responsible for Any Deaths at DC Golf Course
The Washington Post reported that investigators are assessing whether Omar or her father deliberately misstated her birth date so she would qualify for US citizenship through her father after he became a naturalized citizen in 2000.
Authorities are also reviewing whether her father left out or misrepresented details about his previous military service in Somalia.
Omar was born in Somalia in 1982 and came to the United States with her family in 1995, when she was approximately 12 or 13 years old.
The current inquiry includes questions about the accuracy of her age in immigration records. Officials who reviewed her file in 2019 said they could not definitively resolve the issue because birth records for Somali refugees were often unreliable.
Her marital history is also part of the renewed scrutiny.
Public records indicate that Omar legally married Elmi in February 2009.
They separated in 2011, although their divorce was not finalized until December 2017.
Elmi had earlier applied to convert his marriage-based green card from conditional status to permanent residency.
The renewed scrutiny follows a federal search of Omar’s Washington, DC, home on October 12 as part of a criminal investigation
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has addressed the federal inquiry, saying investigators were pursuing the case and suggesting it could be brought before a grand jury
A former immigration official cited by The Washington Post said authorities requested additional documentation because of concerns about the marriage’s validity. Elmi withdrew the application after receiving that request, the official said.
The latest investigation comes weeks after federal agents searched Omar’s Washington, DC, residence on October 12 as part of a criminal inquiry.
Agents took her phone and passport, while authorities issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas connected to the case, including subpoenas directed to some of her relatives.
The Justice Department has not announced any charges against Omar in connection with the allegations.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has also commented on the investigation, saying agents were continuing to pursue the case and indicating that it could be presented to a grand jury.
During an October 16 appearance on The Charlie Kirk Show, Mullin said investigators expected to take the matter before a grand jury. His remarks did not establish that Omar had committed a crime or that prosecutors had decided to charge her.
Omar has accused the Trump administration of using the investigation to intimidate her because of her outspoken opposition to the president.
She said she believed the search of her home was politically motivated, citing Trump’s repeated public attacks against her.
Trump has denied any role in the search, while administration officials have said law enforcement actions are guided by the facts and applicable law.
The Justice Department has also asked a court to keep the search warrant application sealed while investigators examine the evidence taken from Omar’s home.
Prosecutors argued that releasing the material could compromise the ongoing investigation and said they had not yet determined whether to file charges or whom those charges might target.
The timing of the search has also drawn attention because it occurred only weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
