A newly uncovered academic paper written by Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) former husband has attracted attention amid an ongoing federal investigation into the Minnesota Democrat’s immigration history and longstanding allegations surrounding their marriage.
Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a British citizen whom Omar legally married in 2009, identified himself as a gay man in an academic essay published in August 2026.
The revelation comes as federal investigators examine allegations that Omar married Elmi to help him obtain immigration benefits, as well as claims that he is her brother.
Omar has repeatedly denied those accusations, describing them as politically motivated conspiracy theories.
According to reporting by the Daily Mail, the Daily Caller obtained an academic paper written by Elmi, a doctoral researcher at the University of Bristol.
The essay, titled Out in the Field: Notes on Researching Queer Violence in Kenya, explores his experiences conducting research into violence affecting LGBTQ individuals.
“As a gay man of the East African diaspora, my fieldwork was never neutral,” Elmi wrote in the introduction.
He described navigating questions of identity, personal safety and vulnerability while conducting his research.
The disclosure has brought renewed attention to Elmi’s background, although his sexual orientation does not establish whether his marriage to Omar was fraudulent or whether the two are related.
The former couple’s relationship has faced scrutiny for years.
Public records show Omar and Elmi married in February 2009 in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. They separated in 2011 but did not finalize their divorce until December 2017.
A person described as a friend of Omar’s former partner, Ahmed Hirsi, previously told the New York Post that Elmi lived with Omar and Hirsi in Minnesota in 2009.
The unidentified individual claimed Hirsi described Elmi as Omar’s brother from London and alleged that the marriage had been arranged to obtain immigration documentation.
Those claims remain disputed and have not been established in court.
The latest revelations arrive against the backdrop of a renewed federal investigation into Omar’s immigration records.
According to the reporting, investigators are reviewing questions about her marriage history, birth records and her family’s immigration paperwork.
Among the issues being examined is a discrepancy involving Omar’s birth year, which has appeared as both 1981 and 1982 in certain records.
Authorities are reportedly looking into whether any incorrect information affected her eligibility for citizenship when her father became a naturalized American citizen in 2000.
Investigators are also examining whether her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, omitted or misrepresented information about his past military service in Somalia.
Omar was born in Somalia and arrived in the United States with her family in 1995.
The investigation reportedly intensified on October 12, when federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., residence.
According to the Daily Mail’s account, agents seized her phone and passport, while more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas have been issued in connection with the inquiry, including some involving relatives.
The Justice Department has not announced criminal charges against Omar.
The congresswoman has maintained that she committed no wrongdoing and has accused the Trump administration of using federal investigators to intimidate her.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Omar over the marriage allegations.
During an October 22 rally in Iowa, Trump mocked her response to questions about whether Elmi was related to her.
In a recent interview with MS NOW’s Chris Hayes, Omar rejected the allegation that she married her brother as “insane.”
Asked whether there was any possibility that Elmi was a relative, she responded, “Not to my knowledge.”
Trump seized on those remarks, telling supporters that Omar appeared uncertain about whether she had married her brother.
He also called for her resignation from Congress.
However, previous government reviews have produced differing accounts of the evidence.
The New York Times reported that investigators examining the marriage in 2016 uncovered indications of possible fraud, but potential criminal charges were considered outside the applicable statute of limitations.
A separate immigration review in 2019 reached a different conclusion.
Three former immigration officials told The Washington Post that investigators did not find sufficient evidence of wrongdoing or identify problems with Omar’s naturalization, per the Daily Mail.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said investigators are pursuing the current case and indicated it could be presented to a grand jury.
Prosecutors have also sought to keep search warrant materials sealed, arguing that releasing them could interfere with the investigation.
Meanwhile, Omar insists the renewed scrutiny is politically motivated, while Trump has denied involvement in the search of her home.
For now, Elmi’s academic essay adds a previously unreported personal detail to a controversy that has followed Omar for years.
It does not resolve the central allegations, which remain under investigation, with no criminal charges announced against the congresswoman.
