Federal investigators have seized Rep. Ilhan Omar’s personal passport and obtained her DNA as an immigration fraud investigation reaches into the Minnesota Democrat’s family history. Authorities are examining government records and information from witnesses following a search of her Washington, D.C., home. The investigation includes allegations concerning the family’s immigration paperwork, while a separate inquiry is scrutinizing Omar’s financial disclosures.
Homeland Security Investigations agents searched the residence on October 12th, taking electronic devices, notebooks and her passport. The immigration inquiry concerns information provided during the family’s arrival in the United States in 1995 and Omar’s naturalization in 2000. Reuters reported that a sealed warrant identified conspiracy, immigration fraud, and false statements on immigration paperwork as suspected offenses, with investigators examining whether Omar or relatives misrepresented information during that process.
A phone seized from Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, earlier this year reportedly helped investigators obtain the search warrant. Family text messages on that device were cited in reporting about the evidence presented to a judge. Noor also voluntarily spoke with investigators following the search, according to reporting published October 20th. The interview came as authorities pursued evidence involving relatives and the family’s immigration history.
Investigators could use the DNA evidence to examine the disputed allegation that Omar married her brother, according to sources cited by the New York Post. Omar married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009 and has denied that they are siblings. Authorities have also gathered whistleblower accounts and government records as they investigate whether the marriage was part of an immigration fraud scheme.
Former U.S. Attorney John Fishwick discussed the investigation’s scope in an interview with The National News Desk. He said investigators could examine later government filings to determine whether earlier statements about Omar’s age were repeated in passport or Social Security paperwork. Authorities have also turned to a federal grand jury. “They’ve subpoenaed a bunch of witnesses, of relatives of hers and other folks. To a grand jury in Minnesota,” Fishwick said.
The financial scrutiny involves a separate investigation overseen by Washington’s U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. House Oversight Chairman James Comer also questioned the assets listed on Omar’s financial disclosure in the Fox News segment. “Not only was there a huge discrepancy in the financial disclosure form, there was the winery that was the big base of her $25 million listing on her financial disclosure form,” Comer said. Omar’s original 2024 disclosure listed her husband’s winery interest at $1,000,001–$5 million and his interest in Rose Lake Capital at $5,000,001–$25 million.
Watch the report on the passport seizure, DNA evidence and financial allegations here:
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Comer further alleged that the winery had faced fraud accusations involving wine sold to investors for aging. Attributing his account to press reporting, he said: “That winery has, according to the press, been shut down because of fraud.” He continued: “They were apparently selling investors barrels of wine to be aged, but there was nothing in the barrels.” Those remarks concerned alleged business dealings, separate from the immigration records underlying the home search.
Omar’s attorneys demanded the return of seized property in an October 16th letter, calling the search “neither justified nor lawful.” They also requested preservation of recordings made during the operation, according to the Associated Press. Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington rejected their account, saying: “Our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.