Vice president links inquiry to broader federal anti-fraud efforts as officials examine potential avenues for investigation.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Vice President JD Vance said Friday that the White House is reviewing potential legal avenues related to allegations of immigration fraud involving Ilhan Omar.
Speaking on a podcast, Vance said administration officials are examining how to pursue an investigation and what legal remedies may be available. “So we actually think that Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America,” Vance said. “And I talked to [White House deputy chief of staff] Stephen Miller about this actually recently. We’re trying to look at what the remedies are. That’s the thing that we’re trying to figure out is what are the legal remedies now that we know that she’s committed immigration fraud? How do you go after her? How do you investigate her? How do you actually do the thing? How do you build the case necessary to get some justice for the American people?”
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Vance added, “There’s a related issue, Benny, which is she has been at the center of a lot of the worst fraudsters in the Somali community.”
The remarks come as the administration expands a broader anti-fraud initiative. Vance recently convened the first meeting of a federal task force focused on identifying fraud within public assistance and government benefit programs, with early investigations centered in Minnesota.
The allegations referenced by Vance relate to longstanding claims that Omar married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009 in Minnesota, following an earlier marriage to Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi. According to previously reported timelines, Omar separated from Elmi in 2011 and later reconciled with Hirsi, with whom she had additional children. The divorce from Elmi was finalized in 2017, and Omar remarried Hirsi in 2018 before later divorcing again.
Omar has not been charged with any crime related to the allegations.
Federal scrutiny of fraud in Minnesota has expanded in recent months. Authorities have charged dozens of individuals in connection with schemes involving public funds, including a case tied to the Feeding Our Future program, which provided meals to children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The administration has also taken financial action tied to those concerns. In February, Vance announced that certain Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota would be halted pending compliance reviews, stating the move was intended to “ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money.”
Omar has previously criticized federal immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota, including operations targeting Somali communities, and has disputed characterizations linking those communities broadly to fraud cases.
The White House has not announced any formal investigation into Omar. Vance’s comments indicate officials are evaluating possible next steps as part of a wider effort to address fraud in federal programs.
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