Sahra Noor, the older sister of Rep. Ilhan Omar, abruptly canceled a scheduled Minnesota book-tour appearance this week, citing a “family emergency” as federal investigators intensify their examination of the congresswoman’s family immigration history.
Noor had been scheduled to discuss her memoir, “Salt in the Snow: A Somali Immigrant Story,” at the University of Minnesota Rochester’s Intercultural Student Center, with the event promoted by Garden Party Books and other local organizations.
The appearance was scheduled for Thursday evening, but reporters who arrived at the location found the event space empty after receiving no advance notice that the program had been canceled, according to Fox News Digital.
Garden Party Books later told the outlet that Noor had canceled because of a “family emergency,” but no additional explanation was provided and Noor did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The cancellation attracted attention because Noor is among Omar’s relatives who have reportedly received federal grand jury subpoenas in an investigation examining possible false statements or fraud involving immigration paperwork.
The investigation escalated Monday when Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant at Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence and seized her cellphone and other materials. Federal authorities have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas as part of the investigation, including subpoenas to some of Omar’s relatives, according to the Associated Press.
Reuters reported that investigators are examining whether Omar or members of her family misrepresented information during the immigration and naturalization process after the family fled Somalia and eventually came to the United States.
A sealed search warrant reportedly identifies conspiracy, immigration fraud and false statements on immigration paperwork among the potential offenses investigators are examining, although no charges have been announced against Omar or Noor.
Omar arrived in the United States as a Somali refugee in 1995 and became an American citizen in 2000, while Noor also came to the country with members of the family during the 1990s.
Investigators are reportedly scrutinizing decades-old records involving Omar and her late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, including questions surrounding information provided during the family’s immigration process. The cancellation also came as Noor was in the middle of an extensive promotional tour for her memoir, which recounts her experience with migration, family, motherhood and rebuilding her life after leaving Somalia.
Her official events calendar shows previous appearances in Minneapolis and St. Paul earlier this month, as well as book events in Nairobi and Cape Town before the U.S. portion of her tour. Noor’s next listed appearance is scheduled for October 23 at the Somali Community Cultural Innovation Hub in Seattle, where she is expected to participate in a discussion and book signing.
The Rochester cancellation comes amid several fast-moving developments surrounding Omar, including Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s disclosure that federal agents served multiple search warrants on the same day Omar’s residence was searched.
Mullin has described the investigation as a “strong case,” although the government has not publicly released the evidence underlying that assessment and prosecutors have not announced criminal charges against the congresswoman.
