DHS Launches Probe Into Alleged Bigamy Claim Against Ilhan Omar

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has launched an internal probe into claims that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar married her brother. The top immigration official says the investigation found she wed Ahmed Elmi in an attempt to bring him into the United States. According to Mullin, the second man is now living in London. He told conservative commentator Benny Johnson that this conduct could amount to possible illegal activity and insisted the inquiry remains ongoing. This approach breaks with a standard where officials usually avoid discussing active probes while they are still unfolding.

Omar has denied these accusations for years. She reportedly told friends she was still married to her first husband, Ahmed Hirsi, when she allegedly tied the knot with Elmi. Those accounts reached the Daily Mail through people who know both women. Her office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Mullin's latest assertions. Abdihakim Osman, a former friend of Omar, told the paper in 2020 that she wanted to get papers so her brother could stay here. At the time, few realized this meant marrying him. No one knew there had been a wedding until media outlets surfaced a marriage certificate years later.

The details are specific and strange. Omar married Hirsi in 2002 during a Muslim ceremony. Like many ceremonies in immigrant communities at the time, it was not registered with the state. The first report suggesting Omar and Elmi were siblings appeared on the website Somalispot back in 2016. It stated that as soon as she married him, he started university at her alma mater, North Dakota State University, where he graduated in 2012.

Mullin insists his office is moving forward without regard for politics, even though Omar has long been a target of former President Trump. He has posted about her on social media dozens of times and pushed hard to have her investigated. If the investigation proves her claims false or reveals unlawful conduct, he threatened deportation. There is no expiration date on that threat. If they can prove it, maybe you should not have been here in the first place.

This situation raises real questions for communities across the country. Families living with mixed-status members often face scrutiny that feels heavy and unfair. When an official accuses a sitting member of Congress of fraud or bigamy without immediate proof, it sets a troubling tone. It invites political attacks wrapped up as law enforcement actions. The Department of Homeland Security office did not immediately respond to further requests for comment from the Daily Mail.