A 2013 Father’s Day message referring to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s father by a name different from official congressional records has drawn renewed scrutiny as federal investigators examine allegations involving her immigration documents and identity.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A deleted social media post from 2013 in which Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., referred to her father as “Nur Said” has resurfaced amid a federal investigation into her immigration and citizenship records, renewing questions about discrepancies in names associated with the congresswoman and her family.
The message, originally published in June 2013 and deleted in September 2019, referred to Omar’s father using a name that differs from the one appearing in official congressional records.
“Happy Father’s Day to my aabo Nur Said, I am forever grateful to Allah for giving me the best father …,” Omar wrote in the post, according to an Oct. 24 report by Fox News Digital.
The discrepancy has attracted renewed attention because Omar’s former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, shares part of the name used in the deleted message.
A June 16, 2020, memorial statement from the Congressional Black Caucus identified the congresswoman’s father as Nur Omar Mohamed following his death.
The statement described Mohamed as a former teacher in Somalia who fled the country’s civil war with his family, spent time in a refugee camp in Kenya and eventually resettled in the United States. He later worked as a taxi driver and postal employee.
The different names have become part of longstanding allegations questioning whether Omar’s former husband was a relative, allegations she has repeatedly denied.
Somali naming conventions commonly use an individual’s given name followed by the given names of their father and paternal grandfather. However, similarities between names do not establish a biological relationship, and naming conventions alone cannot demonstrate wrongdoing.
The deleted Father’s Day message first received significant public attention in September 2019, when journalists and political commentators circulated archived copies and questioned the difference between the name in the post and other references to Omar’s father.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reported at the time that the message had disappeared shortly after renewed online discussion of the name.
An explanation subsequently attributed to Omar’s spokesperson said “Nur Said” was her father’s childhood nickname and that the post had been deleted because the congresswoman and her family had received threats.
Fox News reported that it had not independently verified the full name attributed to her father in some accounts. The outlet also noted that historian Mohamed Haji Ingiriis had previously referred to Omar’s father as “Nur Said.”
The renewed scrutiny follows an Oct. 12 search of Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence by federal agents investigating possible false statements involving immigration and naturalization documents.
According to The Washington Post, investigators are examining whether information submitted decades ago by Omar or her late father contained inaccuracies concerning their identities or immigration histories.
The investigation reportedly includes questions about birth records, citizenship paperwork and identifying information used during the family’s immigration process.
Federal authorities have not publicly announced criminal charges against Omar, and the allegations under investigation have not been established in court.
Fox News also reported that court documents connected to the search identified the congresswoman as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a.k.a. Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.”
The filing did not explain the origin of the alternative name or establish that Omar had knowingly used a false identity.
When questioned Friday about the name appearing in the court documents, Omar rejected the characterization.
“Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, you know it,” she told Fox News Digital. “It’s Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.”
Two people familiar with the investigation reportedly suggested that “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi” could be her legal name, although the congresswoman’s office disputed that assertion.
Omar has also repeatedly denied allegations that she married her brother, describing the claims as politically motivated and unfounded.
In a statement Thursday, a spokesperson said Omar had “repeatedly and unequivocally denied” the “baseless, disgusting conspiracy theory” concerning her former marriage.
During an interview Wednesday, Omar was asked whether her former husband might have been a distant relative.
“Not to my knowledge,” she responded.
The marriage at the center of the controversy involved Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, whom Omar married in 2009 before divorcing in 2017.
Questions about that relationship have circulated for years, but publicly available evidence has not established that Elmi is Omar’s brother.
The current federal investigation represents a separate inquiry into possible inaccuracies in immigration and citizenship records.
A former federal immigration judge told Fox News that knowingly providing materially false information on federal documents could potentially implicate federal false-statement laws.
However, establishing a criminal violation would require evidence concerning the specific documents, the significance of any inaccuracies and whether the person involved knowingly provided false information.
The Justice Department did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the latest reporting.
Omar’s office also did not respond to the outlet’s Friday inquiry about the deleted Father’s Day message, although it has publicly disputed the broader allegations.
The congresswoman has characterized the investigation as a political attack and has denied wrongdoing.
The resurfaced post adds another disputed detail to the examination of Omar’s family history, but the use of “Nur Said” in a Father’s Day greeting does not independently establish that she used false immigration documents or misrepresented a family relationship.
Federal investigators have not disclosed when their inquiry may conclude or whether prosecutors intend to pursue charges.
For now, the central questions concern whether discrepancies in identifying information reflect different naming practices, informal names or material inaccuracies in official documents.
Those questions remain unresolved as authorities continue examining Omar’s immigration history and the records associated with her family.
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