Vast Fraud Of Somali Migrants, Starting With Ilhan Omar, Finally Being Exposed

Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks during a news conference in Minneapolis City Hall, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
This week, federal officials made an astounding announcement: Nearly half of all immigrants in greater Minneapolis were found to have committed some form of immigration fraud.
The fraud, uncovered in a September sweep, came in all kinds —
sham marriages, fake death certificates and “other
bizarre schemes,” as US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edley put it.
But the revelation was no great surprise to those of us who have followed the settlement of some 100,000
Somali immigrants in Minnesota over the past three decades.
As far back as 2008, the State Department temporarily suspended one of the family reunification programs used by
Somali immigrants when DNA testing of applicants found that 80% of all its claimed family relationships were fake.
Immigration fraud in this community has been the norm.
And when it comes to “bizarre schemes,”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) serves as Exhibit A.
Omar is accused, and has never credibly denied, that she married her brother to get him legal papers.
In 2016, following up on a tip posted on a local Somali discussion board, I found that Omar — then a first-time candidate for the Minnesota state legislature — had “religiously married,” but not legally married, Ahmed Hirsi, the father of her children.
However, records showed that in 2009 she had legally married
Ahmed Nur Said Elmi — a man identified as her brother by Somalis on the discussion board.
Omar was still married to Elmi as she campaigned for state office in 2016, although her website made no mention of him and touted Hirsi as her husband.
It appeared that Omar had married her brother for some fraudulent purpose.
As if to put an exclamation point on the scam, the Omar-Elmi marriage license was executed by Wilecia Harris, a Christian minister, despite the couple’s Muslim faith.
When I asked the Omar campaign about her marriages, a criminal defense attorney responded with a message accusing me of bigotry — and failing to respond to my questions.
This has been Omar’s modus operandi ever since.
This week, federal officials made an astounding announcement: Nearly half of all immigrants in greater Minneapolis were found to have committed some form of immigration fraud.
nypost.com