Rep. Ilhan Omar is facing renewed scrutiny over allegations that she married her brother to help him obtain immigration benefits, as newly examined family records, conflicting marriage documents, and a federal investigation raise fresh questions about the Minnesota Democrat’s past.
Omar has repeatedly denied that her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, is her brother. But when asked this week whether the two were related, she offered a carefully worded response: “not to my knowledge.”
The allegations center on Omar’s 2009 marriage to Elmi, a British citizen whom she divorced in 2017. A 1997 British marriage certificate for Leila Nur Said, identified as Omar’s sister, lists her father as Nur Said Elmi, a name also reportedly used by Omar’s late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, a former Somali military officer.
A recent Justice Department filing seeking to keep records of a federal search of Omar’s Washington, D.C., home sealed identified the congresswoman as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.” The filing did not establish that Elmi was her brother.
Questions have also surrounded Omar’s overlapping relationships with Elmi and Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi, the father of her three children. Omar legally married Elmi in 2009 but had her third child with Hirsi in 2012, while the marriage remained legally intact. She subsequently filed joint tax returns with Hirsi in 2014 and 2015, despite still being married to Elmi. Those filings were later corrected.
Public records examined by the Minneapolis Star Tribune also show that Omar and Elmi listed a Columbia Heights address on their marriage application that Hirsi used for a business license. Omar has maintained that her relationship with Elmi ended in 2011, although their divorce was not finalized until 2017. She married Hirsi in January 2018.
The immigration questions have intensified following reports that Elmi withdrew an application for permanent residency after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requested additional evidence concerning his marriage to Omar.
A Minneapolis-based Somali blogger who claimed to know Omar growing up told the Daily Mail in 2020 that she had introduced Elmi to members of the Somali community as her brother from London. The blogger claimed Elmi was seeking “papers” and that the community was unaware of the marriage.
“No one knew there had been a wedding [to Elmi] until the media turned up the marriage certificate years later,” he said.
The blogger also alleged that Elmi’s father sent him to the United States after concerns about his lifestyle in London. Elmi subsequently returned to Britain, where he pursued academic work involving sociology, politics, and international studies.
The controversy has taken on new significance following an October 12 federal search of Omar’s Washington residence. Reuters reported that investigators were examining her immigration history, including possible false statements and immigration fraud.
Despite years of allegations, no publicly established evidence has conclusively demonstrated that Omar and Elmi are siblings. A 2019 investigation by the Minneapolis Star Tribune identified inconsistencies in Omar’s marriage history but could not establish the alleged family relationship.
The latest federal investigation, however, has brought those longstanding questions back into the spotlight, with investigators now examining records that could shed light on the congresswoman’s immigration and marriage history.
