Weeks before voters decide her political future, Rep. Ilhan Omar sits at the center of a federal investigation with roots that stretch back more than a decade.
On Oct. 12, agents searched the Minnesota Democrat’s home in Washington, D.C. The raid revived a question that has trailed her since her 2009 wedding: did she marry a man suspected of being her brother so he could secure a green card?
A New York Times report now supplies an earlier chapter.
Investigators from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security examined the marriage in the summer of 2016, under President Barack Obama, according to current and former officials.
They came away with some evidence suggesting fraud.
Then prosecutors checked the calendar. The suspected felony carried a five-year statute of limitations, and that window had already closed, so they declined to move forward.
Nine officials spoke with the Times. Six of them had direct knowledge of that first inquiry.
Their accounts leave a central question unresolved.
The Times could not establish whether Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, the British citizen Omar married, is her brother, and it did not describe what proof agents hold on that point.
The family tie may not settle the legal question anyway. Federal law bars any marriage entered solely to win immigration benefits, relatives or not.
Omar already held U.S. citizenship when she and Elmi wed. They divorced in 2017.
For years, she has waved off the accusations as a conspiracy theory pushed by the right. Last week, President Donald Trump brought them back, again questioning her immigration history.
His administration has since folded the marriage into a much wider inquiry covering Omar’s relatives and how they entered the country as refugees from Somalia.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said a broader immigration fraud conspiracy case might ultimately put deportation on the table for Omar.
The legal path is narrow. The expired deadline blocks prosecutors from charging the 2009 marriage on its own.
The Times reported, however, that evidence tied to the marriage could still surface in a larger criminal case or a civil proceeding.
One limit holds firm. According to the newspaper, the marriage allegation alone would not allow the government to revoke Omar’s citizenship.
Democrats answered the raid with fury. They accused the Trump administration of using federal prosecutors for political ends.
Some also pointed to longstanding Justice Department guidelines that steer investigators away from actions capable of swaying an election, and they asked whether agents ignored that guidance.
Border czar Tom Homan publicly confirmed a DHS review in December 2025 on Newsmax, saying “there was immigration fraud involved,” and he noted that the time limit had become a problem for prosecutors.
Homan did not say whether the government holds evidence of marriage or immigration fraud by Omar, and he declined to spell out what DHS is examining.
Legal analysts have sketched other routes.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said the government could bring conspiracy charges within a 10-year window or file a civil case with no deadline at all.
A marriage fraud conviction can carry up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and deportation.
Omar’s legal team has said no legitimate basis exists for claims that she broke citizenship laws. Omar told Fox News Digital that DHS had not contacted her about her marriage or immigration status.
Omar, who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, became the first Somali American elected to Congress. She now seeks a fifth term, and voters will cast their ballots Nov. 3.
Until then, the congresswoman faces fresh federal scrutiny over a marriage that investigators examined once before, under Obama, and never took to court.
