USA

Ilhan Omar's Controversial 2009 Marriage Faces Renewed Federal Scrutiny in US

30 October 2026 23:10 PM

NEWS DESK

Longstanding controversy surrounding the personal life and marriages of US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has resurfaced as federal authorities renew scrutiny of her 2009 marriage.

A key focus of the investigation is whether Omar entered into a sham marriage with a man suspected of being her brother to help him obtain a US green card, according to a report by The New York Times, citing current and former officials familiar with the matter.

Officials said the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigated the marriage in the summer of 2016, during the administration of former President Barack Obama.

The investigation reportedly uncovered some evidence suggesting possible marriage fraud. However, although the alleged offence could have constituted a felony, the case did not proceed because the five-year statute of limitations had expired.

The allegation that Omar married her brother to secure immigration benefits for him has followed the Minnesota Democrat for more than a decade. President Donald Trump repeated the accusation last week.

Omar has consistently rejected the allegations, describing them as a right-wing conspiracy theory. She has also maintained that federal officials had dismissed the claims when she first ran for public office in 2016.

The Trump administration is now revisiting the matter as part of a broader investigation into the immigration history of Omar and her family, who arrived in the United States as refugees fleeing war-torn Somalia.

Omar and her first husband, Ahmed Hirsi, reportedly married through an Islamic religious ceremony in 2002.

The couple separated in 2009 while they had two children. In the same year, Omar legally married British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. That marriage remained legally valid until 2017, but the circumstances and purpose of the marriage have been disputed for years.

A close friend of Hirsi said that members of the Somali community in Minnesota began discussing Elmi after he arrived in the state. According to the friend, some community members raised questions about his appearance and behaviour.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the friend said he once asked Hirsi about Elmi after noticing his clothing. Hirsi allegedly told him that Elmi was his wife's brother and had arrived from London. He also reportedly said that Omar had embarrassed the Somali community by bringing Elmi to Minnesota.

The friend further claimed that members of the Minneapolis Somali community tried to establish Elmi's identity and later learned that he was the son of Nur Said Elmi and was known as Omar's brother.

According to the same source, Hirsi alleged that Omar had legally married Elmi to help him obtain permanent residency in the United States.

The friend also claimed that Omar and Hirsi frequently argued over Elmi, sometimes engaging in heated exchanges in public. Hirsi reportedly felt relieved when Elmi left Minnesota around 2012.

Omar arrived in the United States as a refugee from Somalia in 1995.

She and Hirsi filed marriage paperwork in 2002, but Omar later said the application was never finalised and that they were not legally married at the time.

According to Omar, the couple separated in 2008 and reunited nearly four years later. They eventually married legally in 2018.

Meanwhile, Omar's legal marriage to Elmi lasted from 2009 to 2017. She has said that they separated in 2011, but completing the necessary divorce paperwork took several more years.

Omar and Hirsi jointly filed tax returns in 2014 and 2015, despite her legal marriage to Elmi still being in effect. Those tax filings were subsequently amended.

Omar and Hirsi eventually separated in 2019. She is now married to Tim Mynett, her former political adviser.

After leaving the United States, Elmi reportedly spent some time in South Africa before returning to the United Kingdom.

He is currently associated with the University of Bristol, where he has been pursuing doctoral studies since 2023 and has also worked as a research assistant. His academic interests include queer studies, decolonisation and gender studies.

The allegations surrounding Omar's 2009 marriage remain disputed, and no court has established that Elmi was her brother or that the marriage was fraudulent.

Ilhan Omar