White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed Sunday that Homeland Security Investigations is conducting an “ongoing criminal investigation” involving Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). He would not discuss evidence, charges, or next steps. That restraint is the right posture. The public should adopt it too.
On Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing,” Homan declined to say whether authorities have proof of immigration or naturalization fraud. “I know things are going on, but I can’t give specifics of what’s happening,” he said. Asked if he was confirming a probe involving Omar, he replied: “I’m confirming that ICE is, yeah — look, I said months ago that there’s something that’s been reported and needs to be looked at.”
Then came the line that should apply to every American: “If someone committed an immigration violation, if someone committed marriage fraud or anything like that, regardless if they’re a congressman or not, no one’s above the law.”
The remarks followed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s description of allegations that Omar married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009 to help him enter the United States and that Elmi was her brother. Omar has called those claims “bigoted lies.” No charges have been filed. No public evidence package has been released. That is the difference between an investigation and a political show trial.
Omar arrived as a Somali refugee in 1995 and was naturalized in 2000. She entered a religious marriage with Ahmed Hirsi in 2002, later separated, and legally married Elmi, a British citizen, in 2009. They separated in 2011 and divorced in 2017. County records establish that timeline. They do not prove a sibling relationship or marriage fraud. The Minneapolis Star Tribune said it could neither confirm nor rebut the sibling claim. Other fact-checks have found no credible public evidence that Elmi is her brother. Gaps in the record are not proof. Questions are not convictions.
Omar’s past still colors public trust. A Minnesota campaign-finance probe found she filed joint federal tax returns with Hirsi in 2014 and 2015 while still legally married to Elmi, and she was fined over campaign-fund misuse. She has drawn lasting criticism for remarks about Israel and Jewish political influence, including the “It’s all about the Benjamins” tweet. Opponents have also tied her orbit to Minnesota’s massive COVID-era fraud cases. Association is not guilt. A recent ethics review recommended dismissing allegations over a wildly inflated-then-amended financial disclosure. None of that substitutes for evidence in the HSI matter. All of it explains why many Americans treat her denials with skepticism.
Denaturalization is a serious process. It should never be a campaign slogan. If investigators have a case, they should prove it. If they do not, they should close the file.
Members of Congress do not get a private exemption from the laws they write. Waiting for evidence is not weakness. It is the only way a republic avoids treating political enemies as presumptively guilty. The same standard that protects Omar today must protect the next official the other party wants investigated tomorrow.
What is your opinion of the congresswoman and this investigation? Leave your thoughts in the comments below – we read them.
