Top Dem Hit by ICE Bombshell
ICE Delivers Troubling News for Ilhan Omar
ICE confirmed troubling news for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on Friday.
Nearly half of all Somali immigrants in greater Minneapolis are living in the U.S. illegally, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Omar, a fourth-term lawmaker and member of the “Squad,” has long presented herself as a champion of Somali immigrants. She pledged to prioritize their interests when first elected.
The Minnesota congresswoman hails from Somalia.
She earned her U.S. citizenship only after arriving illegally. Omar has spun her story into a national profile highlighting Minnesota’s growing African Muslim community.
But ICE’s latest report suggests her advocacy has coincided with widespread fraud. The federal agency revealed the schemes last September. They involve fake marriages, forged death certificates, and other methods designed to deceive immigration authorities.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edley called the schemes “bizarre” and widespread. More than 100,000 Somalis have settled in Minneapolis over the past three decades.
The federal government has known about some fraud for years.
In 2008, the State Department suspended a visa program for Somalis around Minneapolis.
DNA tests confirmed that more than 80% of claimed family relationships were false, per Trending Politics.
Questions have long swirled about Omar’s own arrival in the U.S. Her first marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi has drawn scrutiny. Some in the Somali community allege Elmi may be her biological brother.
A source said no Somali Muslim cleric would marry Omar and Elmi due to the deception. They were reportedly married by a Christian pastor instead.
Omar remained married to Elmi when she ran for office in 2016. Her campaign website claimed she was “religiously married” but not legally married to him. Elmi is the father of her children.
She divorced Elmi in 2017 and remarried Hirsi in 2018. Two years later, the FBI launched an investigation into her first marriage. No charges were filed.
“She said she needed to get papers for her brother to go to school. We all thought she was just getting papers to allow him to stay in the country,” a Somali community source told the Daily Mail.
Scott W. Johnson of the NY Post cited other sources claiming Elmi may be living openly as a gay man in London. These claims were based on recent social media posts.
Ben Goldfarb, a political consultant to Omar, admitted that explaining her prior marriages would only create more confusion. Omar herself called the allegations baseless.
After Juanita Broderick noted Omar’s silence following the March marriage report, Omar responded sharply. “The only thing that is confirmed is your stupidity, hope that helps,” she wrote.
ICE’s confirmation of widespread Somali immigration fraud adds pressure to Omar. It shines a spotlight on her district and the community she pledged to protect.
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