Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Thursday that federal authorities are conducting an ongoing investigation into allegations that Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05) married her brother as part of an immigration scheme.
The allegation that Omar married her brother has circulated since at least 2016.
Speaking to political podcaster Benny Johnson at the GOP midterm convention in Dallas, Mullin suggested the case is more than just political gossip.
“We know that she married her brother to try to bring him to the United States,” he asserted, referring to Omar’s alleged 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.
In 2019, the Minneapolis Star Tribune revisited documents and unanswered questions about Omar’s marriage history, including old claims that she wed a relative to "skirt immigration laws" — claims she has denied.
Mullin added that the man now lives in London and that investigators may be looking at “the whole family migration and possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with.”
Illegal activity? Is this just political bluster? Mullin feeding a story he knows will get clicks? The DHS secretary insists there is more there.
“Here’s what I want to make sure we do: if we actually move a case forward, it’s not a political case, it’s an actual case, because they did things wrong,” he said. “If you lied about certain things about your application. There’s no expiration to that. If we can prove it – that you shouldn’t have been here in the first place – we’ll deport you.”
BREAKING: MULLIN SAYS ILHAN OMAR ALLEGATIONS ARE UNDER INVESTIGATION
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) September 11, 2026
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin says authorities are investigating allegations that Rep. Ilhan Omar married her brother in connection with immigration:
“We know that she married her brother to try to bring him…
President Trump has hammered Omar on the same allegation, arguing the country should want immigrants who contribute — not lawmakers, he says, who arrived under a cloud and then spent their careers complaining about America.
"Yeah, I want to see people that contribute. I don’t want to see Somalia. I don’t want to see a woman that, you know, marries her brother to get in and then becomes a congressman and does nothing but complain," the President said in an interview with Politico late last year.
"Let her go back, fix up her own country," he added.
.@POTUS: "I want to see people that contribute. I don't want to see Somalia. I don't want to see a woman that marries her brother... then becomes a congressman and does nothing but complain." 🔥 pic.twitter.com/auDTA3Cas6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 9, 2025
Omar has repeatedly denied the allegation, calling claims that Elmi is her brother “absurd and offensive.”
In May, Omar told Fox News that Vice President JD Vance’s claim of a Justice Department investigation into her immigration history and alleged fraud was false.
"That is not something that is happening," she claimed. "That man is delusional."
Marriage fraud is a federal felony, carrying up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy RedState's conservative reporting exposing the radical left and woke media? Support our work so we can keep bringing you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.