A reported certified copy of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s marriage application shows her surname changed from Omar to Elmi and back again, raising new questions about her identity records as federal investigators examine longstanding allegations involving her marriage and citizenship.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A 2009 marriage-license application involving Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., contains multiple handwritten changes to her surname, according to newly reported county records, as federal investigators examine allegations concerning the congresswoman’s identity, immigration history and previous marriage to British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.
The application, dated Feb. 12, 2009, reportedly shows Omar’s surname initially entered as Omar, crossed out and replaced with Elmi, and then changed back to Omar. The revisions appear on a certified copy obtained from Hennepin County, Minnesota, according to an investigation published Friday by the New York Post.
The newspaper reported that the first correction appeared to read “Ilhan Omar Elmi,” while the final entry identified the applicant as Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.
It remains unclear who completed the application or made the handwritten corrections. The document does not establish why the changes occurred or whether Omar personally entered the information.
The marriage application also asked whether the prospective spouses were related by blood or adoption. According to the reported document, the box marked “no” was selected.
The records have attracted renewed attention because of allegations dating back approximately a decade that Omar married Elmi, whom critics have claimed was her biological brother, to facilitate immigration benefits.
Omar has repeatedly denied that allegation. No publicly established evidence has confirmed that she and Elmi are siblings, and the marriage application does not independently substantiate the accusation.
The reported document has resurfaced during a broader federal investigation into questions concerning Omar’s immigration records and citizenship.
According to the New York Post, the Justice Department recently identified the congresswoman in a court filing as “Congresswoman Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.”
Investigators are reportedly examining whether Omar used accurate identifying information when she obtained U.S. citizenship in 2000, including questions about her surname and date of birth.
The newspaper reported that investigators are also reviewing allegations that her 2009 marriage to Elmi was fraudulent. Neither the reported surname corrections nor the allegations alone establish a violation of federal law.
Omar was born in Somalia and entered the United States with her family as a refugee. She has maintained that she became an American citizen at age 17 when her father was naturalized.
Questions have arisen because some records identify her birthdate as Oct. 4, 1981, while others list Oct. 4, 1982.
The distinction could be relevant to investigators examining whether she satisfied the legal requirements for acquiring citizenship through a parent’s naturalization. However, discrepancies among records do not, by themselves, establish that citizenship was improperly obtained.
Omar’s marriage history has also been the subject of previous reporting.
She entered a religious marriage with Ahmed Hirsi in 2002. The couple had two children before separating.
In 2009, Omar legally married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a British citizen. The two separated religiously in 2011 but remained legally married until their divorce was finalized in 2017.
Omar subsequently reconciled with Hirsi, with whom she had a third child in 2012. She legally married Hirsi in 2018, and the couple divorced the following year.
In 2020, Omar married political consultant Tim Mynett.
The 2009 marriage application first attracted public attention during Omar’s campaign for the Minnesota Legislature in 2016, when questions about her marital history and the identity of Elmi began circulating.
The document’s image reportedly appeared in earlier coverage by Minnesota-based Alpha News, but the New York Post said its latest reporting involved a certified copy obtained from Hennepin County.
Scott W. Johnson, a retired Minneapolis attorney who has investigated the allegations for years, told the newspaper that the document warrants further examination.
“The whole thing is a red flag,” Johnson said.
“Questions should be asked. She’s never answered them,” he added.
Johnson also alleged that the marriage had been arranged for an improper purpose.
“The whole thing was a joke. The marriage was a fraudulent marriage, brazenly fraudulent,” he said. “They didn’t take it seriously. It was entered into for a fraudulent purpose.”
Those statements reflect Johnson’s allegations and have not been established as findings by a court.
AJ Kern, a former Republican congressional candidate who has investigated Omar’s immigration history, also told the newspaper that she believes the allegations warrant congressional scrutiny.
“I think it’s pretty clear she married her brother and committed immigration fraud,” Kern said.
“If the evidence seems to be pointing to the fact that she never obtained citizenship, Congress is failing to do their job. If we’ve had a foreign nationalist occupying a seat in Congress, that’s a problem,” she continued.
Kern’s claims remain allegations. Investigators have not publicly established that Omar lacks American citizenship.
The New York Post also reported that a previous federal inquiry into Omar’s immigration history began in 2016 and was closed in 2021. Officials reportedly encountered obstacles involving the availability of witnesses and legal time limits applicable to possible offenses.
According to the newspaper, investigators were unable to interview Elmi because he had returned to the United Kingdom.
The renewed investigation is reportedly examining whether possible false statements or other alleged violations could constitute conduct within applicable federal statutes of limitations.
Civil denaturalization proceedings, which can result in the revocation of citizenship obtained illegally, are subject to different legal rules from criminal prosecutions.
However, such proceedings require the government to establish the legal grounds for revoking citizenship. Questions about a person’s name, family relationships or marriage history are not sufficient on their own.
Omar has previously rejected allegations that she married her brother, describing the claims as politically motivated and false.
In earlier reporting, she characterized accusations concerning her personal life as “absurd” and “false.”
The congresswoman’s office did not respond to the New York Post’s latest request for comment concerning the marriage application.
The application itself provides several specific facts for investigators to examine, including the handwritten surname corrections, the final name entered and the response denying a family relationship between the applicants.
It does not identify who made the changes, explain their purpose or establish a biological relationship between Omar and Elmi.
Federal authorities have not announced criminal charges against Omar arising from the marriage application, and the reported investigation remains separate from any determination of wrongdoing.
Original article
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