Ilhan Omar Faces Scrutiny Over Marriage Allegations, Documents Emerge

Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar has publicly denied allegations that she engaged in a fraudulent marriage with her second husband, Ahmed Elmi, who is also rumored to be her brother. When questioned about a potential familial relationship, Omar responded, “not to my knowledge.”

Omar, who immigrated to the U.S. from Somalia in 1995, has consistently refuted claims that she married Elmi for immigration purposes. However, a series of documents and testimonies have emerged, fueling continued speculation.

Marriage Certificate and Family Ties

Omar, 45, legally married Elmi, 41, described as a British citizen, in the U.S. in 2009. They divorced in 2017. Omar's family history is complex, with a branch in the United Kingdom and another in the U.S., complicated by lost or destroyed Somali paperwork.

Records indicate Elmi's parentage is unknown, but he reportedly lived in London with Leila Nur Said, believed to be Omar's sister, who may have raised him. A U.K. marriage certificate for Leila from 1997 lists her father as Nur Said Elmi, a Somali military officer. This name is also associated with Omar's late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, who served as a prominent military commander in the Somali dictatorship.

Multiple sources have suggested to The Post that the individual listed on Leila's British marriage certificate is, in fact, Omar's father. Omar's father also used the name Nur Said on Facebook and had his profile linked to Leila's. Following his death in 2020, condolences were extended to both Omar and Leila for "Nur Said Elmi."

A motion filed by the U.S. District Attorney for the District of Columbia referred to the congresswoman as "Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar."

Living Arrangements and Tax Filings

While legally married to Elmi from 2009 to 2017, Omar had her third child with her previous partner, Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi. Omar states she and Hirsi separated in 2008 but reconciled around 2012 and married in 2018.

During her marriage to Elmi, Omar and Hirsi reportedly listed the same Columbia Heights address on a business license application. Omar claims she and Elmi separated in 2011 but finalized their divorce paperwork later, meaning she had her third child with Hirsi while still legally married to Elmi. Further complicating matters, joint tax filings between Omar and Hirsi in 2014 and 2015 have been reported, during which time she was still legally married to Elmi. These filings were later corrected.

Elmi reportedly left the U.S. to return to the U.K. well before their 2017 divorce was finalized. In the year following Omar's divorce from Elmi, he withdrew a marriage-based green card application, reportedly after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requested additional evidence.

Community Claims

A Somali blogger from Minneapolis claimed in 2020 that Omar introduced Elmi to community members in the 2000s as her brother from London, stating he was seeking "papers." The blogger added that the marriage was not widely known until the marriage certificate surfaced years later. He also alleged that Elmi was sent to the U.S. by his father to curb a "decadent and immoral life" in London. The blogger described Elmi as having a feminine presentation, wearing "light lipstick and pink clothes and very, very short shorts in the summer."

Elmi, who describes himself on social media as a "dirty dandy," has pursued a doctorate at Bristol University and engaged in research related to queer studies and decolonization. He has also spent time at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. Reports indicate Elmi has not been romantically linked to any woman other than Omar.