By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s congressional staff requested that Minnesota officials change her listed birth year from 1981 to 1982 in May 2019, months after she entered Congress, according to newly reported correspondence that has drawn attention amid an ongoing federal investigation into the Minnesota Democrat’s immigration history.
The New York Post reported Tuesday that Omar’s office contacted the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library on May 17, 2019, requesting the correction. Her birthdate had previously appeared as October 4, 1981, in legislative records and other publicly available biographies.
The request came approximately six months after Omar won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2018.
According to correspondence reviewed by the newspaper, the library’s director documented the correction in a May 24, 2019, email.
“On May 17, 2019, Library staff were informed by Rep. Omar’s congressional staff that her birth year was incorrect and requested that we change it to 1982,” the director wrote.
The correspondence also indicated that Omar’s congressional staff were working to correct the information on Wikipedia and in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
The library explained that the original birth year had been entered because it was “widely available, in Wikipedia and the Biographical Directory, and so we added that birthdate without documentation.”
That acknowledgment is significant because it establishes that the original 1981 listing was not based on a verified birth certificate or other primary identification record.
The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library’s current biography lists Omar’s birthdate as October 4, 1982, and includes a note explaining the 2019 correction.
Earlier biographical reporting, including a BBC profile published in 2019, had identified 1981 as her birth year.
The discrepancy has attracted renewed scrutiny because Omar has said she became a naturalized American citizen in 2000, when she was 17.
Under federal immigration laws governing derivative citizenship, a child’s age at the time a parent becomes a citizen can affect eligibility for automatically acquiring citizenship.
Generally, qualifying conditions must be satisfied before the child’s 18th birthday, although the precise requirements depend on the law applicable at the time and the family’s circumstances.
If Omar’s birth year were 1981, she would have turned 19 in October 2000. A 1982 birth year would mean she turned 18 that October, making the exact date of any citizenship-related event potentially important.
However, the existence of conflicting biographical records does not establish that Omar provided false information on immigration documents or obtained citizenship unlawfully.
The correction also does not independently demonstrate misconduct, particularly because Minnesota officials acknowledged that the original birth year had been entered without supporting documentation.
The renewed questions come after Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a court-authorized search warrant at Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence Monday, October 12.
Federal agents removed materials from the property as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. The Justice Department confirmed the search but has not publicly disclosed the allegations under investigation or announced criminal charges against Omar.
According to Associated Press reporting, the investigation appears to involve immigration paperwork associated with Omar’s family, including documents completed by her late father.
The search occurred approximately three weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, prompting criticism from Democrats who questioned whether the administration was using federal law enforcement against a political opponent.
Omar has repeatedly denied allegations concerning her immigration history and accused President Donald Trump’s administration of political retaliation.
“I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” Omar said following Monday’s search.
“For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.”
“I will not be silenced.”
The congresswoman’s office has maintained that she committed no wrongdoing and condemned the search as an abuse of federal authority.
A social media post circulating the birth-year allegations has also contributed to renewed public attention surrounding the discrepancy.
The federal investigation could examine whether Omar’s immigration documents accurately recorded her age and whether her family’s citizenship circumstances satisfied the applicable legal requirements.
Nevertheless, questions about citizenship eligibility cannot be resolved solely through a comparison of published birthdates. Establishing wrongdoing would require reliable documentation and evidence concerning the actual naturalization process.
For now, the available records confirm that Omar’s congressional staff requested a birth-year correction in 2019, while federal authorities continue an investigation whose full scope remains undisclosed.
No criminal charges have been announced against the congresswoman, and the reported discrepancy has not been shown to invalidate her U.S. citizenship.
Original article
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