Ilhan Omar, the first and only Somali-born lawmaker to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, has been criticized by conservatives regarding her background for years prior to Monday's raid at her home in Washington. Omar, 44, was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, and fled the country's civil war with her family when she was just 8 years old.
They then spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before migrating to the United States in the 1990s, according to her official House biography. "In 1997, she moved to Minneapolis with her family," the bio continues. Omar's grandfather inspired her to get involved in politics.
Before running for office, she worked as a community educator at the University of Minnesota, was a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and served as a Senior Policy Aide for the Minneapolis City Council." Omar, who represents Minnesota's 5th District, including Minneapolis, was elected to the House in 2018, becoming the first African refugee to serve in Congress, the first woman of color to represent Minnesota and one of just two Muslim-American women ever voted into the chamber along with Michigan's Rashida Tlaib. Monday's search follows months of federal scrutiny into Omar's immigration history, as confirmed last month by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who has said authorities were examining an accusation that she married her brother to help him enter the United States. Omar has repeatedly denied the unsubstantiated allegation.
Here's a closer look at Omar's family, including her husband and siblings, both of whom have been connected to frequent attacks by critics regarding the Minnesota lawmaker. Ilhan Omar's father was Nur Omar Mohamed, a Somali educator and former military officer who helped raise her after her mother died when Omar was a young child. Her father and grandfather played important roles in her upbringing, according to the Congressional Black Caucus.
Mohamed, who later worked as a taxi driver and for the U.S. Postal Service, died in June 2020. Omar is the youngest of seven siblings, although the specific names of her brothers and sisters have not been publicized.
The lawmaker has faced years of controversy over allegations that her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, was in fact her biological brother and that their 2009 marriage was intended to help him obtain U.S. immigration benefits. There has never been any public proof of a sibling relationship between Omar and Elmi. Omar has repeatedly and strenuously denied these allegations, calling them "bigoted lies." However, that has not stopped members of the Trump administration from repeating the allegations.
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