DHS Chief Alleges Ilhan Omar 'Married Her Brother' and Could Be Deported Following 'Ongoing' Probe

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin alleged on Thursday in Dallas that Rep. Ilhan Omar 'married her brother' to facilitate immigration and said she could ultimately face deportation if investigators establish immigration-related wrongdoing that provides a lawful basis to challenge her citizenship or immigration history. Omar has repeatedly denied the allegation.

The allegation, which has circulated for years but has not been established in court or through publicly disclosed conclusive evidence, has repeatedly been denied by the Minnesota Democrat.

Speaking to conservative podcaster Benny Johnson at the Republican midterm convention, Mullin said investigators were examining possible immigration violations but insisted any case should be based on evidence rather than politics.

Ilhan Omar Allegations Raised During Federal Probe

'We know that she married her brother to try to bring him to the United States,' Mullin told Johnson, referring to Omar's former husband Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. He also said Elmi now lives in London.

Mullin suggested investigators could be looking at wider questions involving family migration and whether any immigration rules were broken. He said there 'may be more to this' and referred to the possibility of 'illegal activity' connected with how members of the family entered the United States.

He nevertheless acknowledged that the matter remained under investigation. Mullin said that if authorities moved a case forward, he wanted it to be based on alleged wrongdoing rather than political considerations.

He also argued that false statements on an immigration application could carry consequences even years later. 'If we can prove it, that you shouldn't have been here in the first place, we'll deport you,' Mullin said.

Omar became a naturalised US citizen in 2000 at the age of 17. She has denied that Elmi is her brother and has rejected claims that their marriage was part of an immigration scheme.

Ilhan Omar Denies Marriage Fraud Claims

Questions about Omar's relationship with Elmi have persisted for more than a decade. Omar legally married Elmi, a UK citizen, in February 2009. Their marriage was dissolved in December 2017, and she legally married Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi the following month, in January 2018.

In 2016, Omar told MPR News, 'Insinuations that Ahmed Nur Said Elmi is my brother are absurd and offensive.' Her chief of staff, Connor McNutt, also rejected the allegations earlier this year, calling them a 'ridiculous lie' and accusing critics of using them for political purposes.

Omar has described the relationship as brief, saying it ended in 2011, although their legal divorce was not finalised until December 2017. There is no record cited here of the pair having children.

Previous reporting examined deleted social media posts and accounts from people who claimed knowledge of Omar's family relationships. Those materials raised questions but did not establish that Elmi was Omar's brother.

Trump and Vance Repeat Ilhan Omar Claims

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have also publicly said they believe Omar committed immigration wrongdoing. In March, Vance told Johnson, 'We actually think that Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America.'

Trump made a similar claim in May, saying he believed Omar 'married her brother, which is totally illegal.'

The allegation remains disputed. Mullin did not specify what evidence investigators had obtained or when the federal inquiry might be completed.

Mullin said any action would depend on what investigators can prove, while Omar and her representatives have continued to deny that Elmi was her brother or that the marriage was fraudulent.

Marriage fraud is a federal offence punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (£184,000). The general federal limitation period for such a criminal prosecution is five years, although different immigration or naturalisation offences may be governed by different limitation periods.

Civil denaturalisation proceedings are separate and carry no general statute of limitations. Under federal law, citizenship may be revoked if the government proves that naturalisation was illegally procured or obtained through concealment of a material fact or wilful misrepresentation.

Omar became a US citizen in 2000, however, nine years before her marriage to Elmi, meaning the disputed 2009 marriage alone would not establish that her citizenship was improperly obtained.

No charge, indictment or court finding against Omar over the marriage allegation has been publicly identified.