Who knew when the feds raided Rep. Ilhan Omar earlier this month we’d discover a strange connection to former President Barack Obama.
Federal authorities reportedly began investigating allegations surrounding Omar’s marriage and immigration history during the finaly year of the Obama administration, years before the Minnesota Democrat became a frequent target of President Donald Trump and his political allies.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security opened an investigation in 2016 into allegations that Omar had married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a man critics have claimed was her brother, as part of a possible immigration fraud scheme, Fox News Digital reported, citing a source familiar with the investigation.
The newly reported timeline is notable because it places the beginning of federal scrutiny during Obama’s presidency rather than under Trump, whose administration is currently conducting a separate investigation involving Omar and members of her family. According to Fox News, federal investigators examined the marriage allegation in 2016 and eventually referred information to prosecutors in Minnesota, but the investigation did not produce charges.
The report said the matter was ultimately closed in 2021 after President Joe Biden took office, with a source saying federal prosecutors concluded that applicable statutes of limitations presented an obstacle to pursuing potential charges. Closing the investigation without charges did not establish that Omar committed immigration fraud, nor does the existence of an investigation prove the underlying allegation that Elmi was her brother.
The new account also adds context to a public dispute dating to 2016, when then-U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Andrew Luger denied reports that his office was investigating Omar or had requested an investigation into her immigration history.
Fox’s latest reporting says the investigation was instead being handled by the FBI and DHS and existed independently of Luger’s office before information was later presented to federal prosecutors.
Omar legally married Elmi in 2009 after previously entering a religious marriage with Ahmed Hirsi, the father of her children, and she has said she separated from Elmi in 2011 before legally divorcing him in 2017. She subsequently legally married Hirsi, although that marriage also later ended in divorce.
Questions about Elmi’s relationship to Omar surfaced publicly during her 2016 campaign for the Minnesota Legislature, when bloggers and political opponents alleged that the marriage had been arranged to help Elmi obtain immigration benefits.
The issue has returned to the national spotlight because federal investigators are once again examining Omar’s immigration and citizenship history as part of a broader inquiry involving members of her family.
Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Omar’s Washington-area residence earlier this month as investigators sought records and electronic devices connected to the inquiry, according to reporting on the case.
Federal authorities have also issued subpoenas involving Omar’s relatives while examining information contained in immigration and citizenship documents, although neither the searches nor subpoenas establish that Omar or her family committed a crime.
The current investigation reportedly includes questions about information supplied by Omar’s late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, during his immigration and naturalization process and whether any inaccurate information could have implications for Omar’s citizenship history.
