A sprawling criminal investigation into Somali Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar took a major step forward Tuesday: federal prosecutors plan to use DNA evidence to prove Omar committed immigration fraud, according to sources familiar with the matter. The development comes days after federal Homeland Security Investigations agents raided Omar’s Washington, D.C. home and left with boxes marked “property seized as evidence,” part of a broad investigation being conducted under court order by the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission.
2+According to sources involved in the details, the DNA evidence obtained is meant to resolve a controversial issue that has followed Omar since she began her political career in 2016: the allegation that she married British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009, who was in fact her Somali biological brother, in order to grant him permanent resident status in the United States—a move that ultimately failed, as Elmi withdrew his green card application in 2019 before their official divorce in 2017.
Investigators believe the use of biological evidence, along with government documents and whistleblower testimony, gives them a solid enough foundation to file conspiracy to commit immigration fraud charges before a grand jury. Legal experts note that conspiracy charges allow prosecutors to deal with statute of limitations issues by presenting acts allegedly committed even many years ago, and the possibility of opening civil proceedings with no statute of limitations at all is also being considered.
2+Alongside suspicions about her marriage, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb is examining additional issues related to the congresswoman’s financial conduct, including financial reports totaling tens of millions of dollars that underwent unusual adjustments and were removed from her public disclosures in the past year.
President Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, Tom Homan, recently stated that authorities have built a “strong case” against Omar, which may even include an attempt by the Trump administration to revoke her U.S. citizenship—an entirely unprecedented step against a sitting member of Congress. These allegations also focus on suspicions that her late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, and other figures allegedly helped falsify her birth data when immigrating from Somalia in 1995 to facilitate her citizenship.
2+Omar’s attorneys, Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz, sent a sharp letter to the Justice Department demanding the immediate return of all items seized in the raid, claiming the investigation is driven by political considerations and revenge by President Donald Trump because of her public and critical activities.
In their letter, the attorneys accused agents of violating Justice Department protocols regarding conducting searches near election dates, and claimed there is no legal basis for allegations against her citizenship. In response, a Justice Department spokesman flatly rejected the claims, called the defense letter a propaganda and PR tool, and emphasized that law enforcement authorities acted throughout strictly according to court orders and established law.