A new report alleges that members of Minnesota’s Somali community knew about Rep. Ilhan Omar’s disputed 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi and that her former husband privately described Elmi as her brother. Omar has repeatedly denied allegations of marriage and immigration fraud.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — New allegations surrounding Rep. Ilhan Omar’s marriage history have emerged after a report citing members of Minnesota’s Somali community claimed that her former husband, Ahmed Hirsi, privately identified Ahmed Nur Said Elmi as Omar’s brother and said their marriage was arranged to obtain immigration documents.
The allegations were detailed in an October 28 New York Post investigation and subsequently highlighted by Breitbart columnist John Nolte on October 29.
According to the Post, people familiar with Omar’s relationships claimed that her marriage to Elmi was discussed within Minneapolis’s Somali community years before the controversy attracted national political attention.
The newspaper interviewed an individual described as a close friend of Hirsi, with whom Omar had two children before legally marrying Elmi in 2009.
The unidentified source claimed that Hirsi and Omar remained romantically involved despite her legal marriage to Elmi and that Elmi’s arrival from London created tensions within their household.
The source further alleged that Hirsi described Elmi as Omar’s brother and claimed that the legal marriage was intended to help him obtain immigration papers.
The account has not been independently corroborated through publicly available immigration documents, and neither Omar nor Elmi has been found by a court to have participated in a fraudulent marriage.
Omar has repeatedly denied that Elmi is her brother.
The source told the Post that Elmi’s arrival attracted attention among Somali residents because of his clothing and behavior, which the source said differed from prevailing cultural expectations within the community.
“He was walking around in tight female clothing, which is heavily frowned upon in the Somali community, so I went to ask Ahmed about it,” the source said.
The individual claimed Hirsi responded by identifying Elmi as a relative of Omar.
“He told me that it was his wife’s brother from London and that Ilhan had ‘embarrassed all of us by bringing him here.’ Ahmed used very strong words and said it was ‘disgusting.’”
The source also claimed the relationship became a subject of widespread discussion.
“All of the Somalis in Minneapolis were gossiping and trying to find out who this guy was,” the source said. “Then everyone realized it was Nur Said Elmi’s son, and Ilhan’s brother. Everybody was shocked.”
Those assertions represent the recollections of the newspaper’s source rather than independently established facts about Elmi’s family relationship to Omar.
The source further alleged that Hirsi objected to Elmi spending time around the children he shared with Omar.
“Ahmed used to insult her brother all the time and say nasty things,” the individual said.
The source claimed Hirsi expressed concern about Elmi’s influence on the family.
“He told me, ‘He’s an uncle to my children and I am scared he is going to influence them with his effeminate lifestyle.’”
According to the account, the disagreement contributed to repeated arguments between Omar and Hirsi.
“Ahmed and Ilhan used to argue over her brother all the time,” the source said. “I saw them arguing and shouting in public.”
The Post reported that Hirsi appeared relieved when Elmi left the United States around 2012.
The newspaper sought comment from Omar, Hirsi and Elmi but did not receive responses addressing the new allegations.
The allegations concern a complicated marriage history that has been examined by journalists for several years.
Omar and Hirsi entered a religious marriage in 2002 but did not legally register the relationship.
They separated under their religious tradition in 2008. Omar subsequently married Elmi in a legally recognized ceremony in 2009.
Omar has maintained that she and Elmi separated in 2011 under their religious tradition, although their legal divorce was not finalized until 2017.
She reconciled with Hirsi in 2012, and they had a third child.
Omar and Hirsi legally married in 2018 before divorcing in 2019.
Questions about the overlap between those relationships became part of an investigation by the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2019.
The newspaper examined marriage records, shared addresses and social media material but could not conclusively determine whether Omar and Elmi were siblings.
A PolitiFact review of the Star Tribune’s investigation documented the newspaper’s findings and the uncertainty surrounding the allegations.
Journalists also identified tax filings that raised separate questions about Omar’s financial disclosures.
In 2019, the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board determined that Omar had filed joint income tax returns with Hirsi in 2014 and 2015, despite being legally married to Elmi during those years.
Those filings were subsequently corrected.
The tax issue established an irregularity in Omar’s financial records but did not prove that her marriage to Elmi involved immigration fraud or that the two were related.
Omar has consistently rejected the sibling-marriage allegations, previously describing them as “absurd and offensive.”
She has also criticized political opponents and news organizations for continuing to examine her private life.
In an October 2026 interview with MS NOW, Omar again denied marrying Elmi for immigration purposes.
When asked whether she had any familial relationship with Elmi, she replied, “Not to my knowledge.”
The interview was subsequently reported by Fox News.
The renewed controversy comes as the Trump administration investigates questions involving Omar’s immigration history and citizenship documentation.
Federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., residence on October 12 as part of an investigation into possible immigration-related violations.
Omar has denied wrongdoing and characterized the investigation as politically motivated.
Separately, an October 29 New York Post report claimed that federal investigators examined allegations involving her marriage during the Obama administration in 2016.
According to that report, prosecutors did not pursue potential false-statement charges because they believed the applicable five-year statute of limitations had expired.
The reported investigation has not resulted in a publicly established finding that Omar’s marriage was fraudulent.
The allegations involving Elmi first surfaced publicly during Omar’s 2016 campaign for the Minnesota House of Representatives and have circulated through political commentary and media investigations ever since.
Earlier investigations could not establish whether Elmi was Omar’s sibling.
The latest New York Post account adds testimony attributed to a person familiar with Hirsi, but it does not include independently verified records establishing the alleged family relationship or demonstrating that the marriage was arranged to obtain immigration benefits.
As of October 29, Omar has not been convicted of or charged with marriage fraud in connection with Elmi.
The new allegations nevertheless have renewed scrutiny of the congresswoman’s past relationships as federal investigators continue examining separate questions about her immigration history.
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