Trump administration officials confirm ongoing investigation involving Rep. Ilhan Omar

Trump administration officials have intensified their public scrutiny of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., with White House border czar Tom Homan recently confirming that federal authorities are conducting an ongoing criminal investigation involving the congresswoman.

Homan did not identify the investigation’s scope, and federal authorities have not publicly released supporting evidence or filed charges against Omar. His comments came amid renewed attention to longstanding allegations of immigration and marriage fraud that she has repeatedly denied.

“I know things are ongoing, but I can’t give specifics of what’s happening,” Homan said during a Sept. 13 interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Briefing.” 

“If someone committed an immigration violation, if someone committed marriage fraud or anything like that, regardless if they’re a congressman or not, no one’s above the law. So, I’ll leave it at that,” he added. “We’ll let HSI, Homeland Security Investigations, continue the investigation.” 

Pressed on whether he was confirming an investigation involving Omar, Homan replied, “I’m confirming that ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is, yeah — look, I said months ago that there’s something that’s been reported and needs to be looked at.” 

The allegations center on Omar’s 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Critics have alleged that Elmi is Omar’s brother and that she married him to help him obtain U.S. immigration benefits, but those claims have not been substantiated publicly. 

In a December 2025 social media post, Omar called the allegations “bigoted lies” and said President Donald Trump’s “obsession with me is beyond weird.” 

She told a Fox News reporter Sept. 18 that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had not contacted her about an investigation.

Asked about the marriage allegations, Omar replied, “The right-wing has always had this **** going, so I don’t really worry about it.” 

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin publicly repeated the allegation Sept. 10 in an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson during the Republican National Convention in Dallas.

“We know that she married her brother to try to bring him into the United States,” Mullin said, adding that “there may be more to this, possibly some illegal activity.” 

“When we move forward, it's not political; it's because you chose to break the nation’s laws,” he said. 

Attorney General Todd Blanche was asked Sept. 15 whether Omar was under investigation and whether the administration would seek to deport her. 

“I’m not talking about ongoing criminal investigations,” Blanche responded.

Omar arrived in the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia in 1995 and became a naturalized citizen in 2000.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., separately called for the administration to release any evidence indicating whether Omar violated immigration laws.

“I think it should be made public, and I think the members of Congress should be the judge and the jury in this,” Comer said during a Sept. 14 interview on “Just the News, No Noise.”

“Let us vote as to whether or not she needs to remain in Congress,” he added. “If you violated the laws to become a citizen, should that make you ineligible to be a member of Congress? I think so. But put it up for a vote in Congress and let the American people see how their member of Congress would vote on that.”