Ilhan Omar Cannot Be Deported for Marriage to Alleged Brother, but Citizenship Probe Continues
Federal investigators are reportedly examining the Minnesota congresswoman's naturalization process, potentially impacting her U.S. citizenship.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., cannot be deported from the U.S. based on allegations that she married her brother, Ahmed Elmi, according to immigration officials speaking with The Post. However, a federal investigation into Omar's naturalization as a U.S. citizen in 2000 is reportedly ongoing and could potentially lead to the revocation of her citizenship.
Sources familiar with the matter suggest that the investigation is focused on Omar's immigration file, particularly documents related to her becoming a U.S. citizen as a teenager and paperwork filed by her father, Nur Said Mohamed Elmi. If evidence emerges that Omar or her father misrepresented information on her application for citizenship, the Trump administration could initiate a denaturalization process.
Concerns about Omar's marriage to Elmi, a UK national, first surfaced due to rumors that he was her brother. The marriage, which ended in divorce in 2017, has been described by some as a "Green Card marriage." While marriage fraud is a felony, a former ICE lawyer explained that prosecuting Omar for this would be complicated. As a U.S. citizen, she could not be deported even if the marriage was proven to be fraudulent. Elmi, if proven to be her brother, could be barred from entering the U.S. again, but this alone would not lead to Omar's removal.
Furthermore, a five-year statute of limitations for marriage fraud charges would have expired upon their divorce, precluding criminal charges for Omar. Incest charges would require evidence of sexual contact, which is not alleged in this context.
Despite these legal hurdles regarding the marriage, sources indicate the investigation is more likely to center on Omar's path to citizenship. Omar claims she automatically received U.S. citizenship as a minor child of a naturalized parent. Her father, Nur Said Elmi, fled Somalia in 1995 and became a U.S. citizen in 2000 along with Omar and her siblings. The official record lists Omar's birth year as 1982, making her 17 at the time of naturalization, the age at which she would qualify for citizenship through her father.
However, questions have been raised about her age at the time of naturalization. In 2019, a social media video suggested Omar was 18 or 19 in 2000, which would have made her too old to gain citizenship through her father's naturalization. Shortly after this video circulated, her birth year on the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library's website was reportedly changed from 1981 to 1982. Current congressional records state her birth year as 1982.
Omar has not publicly provided a birth certificate, stating that such documents were lost during the civil unrest in Somalia. If it is determined that Omar misrepresented her age or other details on her citizenship application, or if her father misrepresented his own background—he is documented as a Somali National Army colonel who trained in the Soviet Union—it could be grounds for denaturalization.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has stated that "something's going to happen" as investigators review Omar's immigration history. Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Tom Homan also confirmed to Fox News that an investigation into Omar's past was underway.
Ahmed Elmi has since been tracked to academic positions in South Africa and the UK. Controversy has also surrounded Omar's marital history, including having her third child with her first husband, Ahmed Hirsi, while legally married to Elmi.