Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that an ongoing internal investigation has found that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, married her brother to facilitate his entry into the United States. Mullin made these claims in an interview with conservative pundit Benny Johnson on September 11, 2026.
Mullin asserted that the alleged marriage was intended to help Omar's brother obtain legal status in the U.S. He also suggested that if the investigation proves the allegations, Omar could face deportation. "There's no expiration to that," Mullin said regarding potential charges. "If we can prove it that, maybe you shouldn't have been here in the first place, we'll deport you." Mullin described the alleged actions as "possible illegal activity" and confirmed the investigation is active, a departure from the typical practice of officials not commenting on ongoing probes.
Omar has consistently denied the allegations that she married her brother, Ahmed Elmi. Reports of this alleged marriage first surfaced on the website Somalispot in 2016. According to these reports, Elmi began attending North Dakota State University, Omar's alma mater, after the alleged marriage, graduating in 2012.
Previously, Omar married Ahmed Hirsi in 2002 in a Muslim ceremony that was not registered with the state. Sources have suggested that Omar may have still been married to Hirsi when she married Elmi. An unnamed past friend of Omar told the Daily Mail in 2020 that Omar had expressed a desire to help her brother obtain legal papers to stay in the U.S. at a time when she was married to Hirsi, but that the intention of marriage was not widely understood until a marriage certificate emerged years later.
Mullin maintained that the investigation is apolitical, despite former President Trump's history of critical remarks and calls for investigations into Omar. "When we move forward," Mullin stated, "it's not political."
Omar's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Mullin's latest statements. The Department of Homeland Security also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Daily Mail reported that the second man Omar married is Ahmed Elmi, who they noted now lives in London.