Ilhan Omar’s Days in Congress May Be Numbered as DOJ Closes In

When Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) handily won reelection on November 3, she used her victory speech to wax defiant at the Trump administration over the federal immigration fraud investigation hanging over her head, which, I guess, she figured had failed to do what it was supposed to.

"When they decided that they were going to come for me, they thought that they were going to find someone who was going to cower," Omar said. "They thought they were going to find a community that was going to live in fear. They thought that if you attacked me and you silenced me, that my community wouldn't show up and vote."

No one actually expected that. Omar's deep-blue district was never in play, and nobody in Washington thought a federal probe would cost her the seat. But she shouldn't be celebrating right now.

Here's the thing: a reelection win doesn't mean much if you aren't legally eligible to keep the job.

On Wednesday, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) appeared on Newsmax, where host Rob Finnerty asked whether he would hold a vote to exclude Omar if she faces an indictment before January.

"I don't think we're going to need to," Emmer said. "I think Ilhan Omar, she's a dishonest, anti-American individual who has lied about her age for years."

Omar was born in Somalia, fled the Somali civil war with her family, and arrived in the U.S. in 1995 at about 12. She said she acquired U.S. citizenship about five years later through her father’s naturalization. As my PJ Media colleague Robert Spencer reported last month, her staff asked for her birth year to be changed from 1981 to 1982 in May 2019 (in the records). That prompted questions as to whether she was actually under 18 when her father naturalized in 2000. If she were under 18, she would have been eligible to derive citizenship from him. But if she wasn't (and that now seems the more likely scenario), she wouldn’t have been.

"She lied because you get naturalized as a citizen with your natural parent when they are naturalized, if you are under the age of 18. Well, she was not under the age of 18," Emmer said.

Emmer argued that the citizenship question offers a cleaner route than any criminal case. "She would have to reapply to be a citizen — it's an administrative procedure. She shouldn't be in Congress," he told Finnerty.

Any indictment, according to Emmer, is a separate matter that "will go through in court."

"Once it's established that she was over the age of 18 when she claimed to be a minor, she's no longer a citizen of the United States. And when she's no longer a citizen, she's not entitled to serve in Congress," he added.

ICYMI: It Sounds Like Joe Biden's Health Is Declining

Pressed on who would confirm her actual birth date, Emmer said, "I think the Department of Justice is finalizing that." He noted that "there are four different things that are being looked at, and that is one of them."

🚨 JUST NOW: Incoming House Minority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer says Ilhan Omar is "NO LONGER A CITIZEN" and "NOT ENTITLED TO SERVE IN CONGRESS" once DOJ proves the case

"I think DOJ is finalizing that! [...] My understanding is there are FOUR different things they are looking at."… https://t.co/yI0TpVgzyo

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 12, 2026

The age question is only one piece of this.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News last month that the probe is "a large case that we have presented to the DOJ," with the Justice Department taking the lead. Investigators are examining Omar's 2009 marriage to Ahmed Elmi, a British citizen, including whether it was part of an immigration fraud scheme, whether Elmi is actually her brother, and whether she lied on federal forms to gain citizenship. Her House financial disclosures are under the microscope, too.

On October 12, Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Omar's Washington, D.C., home and hauled out boxes of material. The New York Post reported that her certified 2009 Hennepin County marriage license shows her surname struck out, replaced with "Elmi," and then switched back to "Omar." That's an awfully messy paper trail for someone who insists there's nothing to see.

Editor's Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media's conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.

Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.