Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says a federal investigation has found that Rep. Ilhan Omar married her own brother to bring him into the United States, and warns she could face deportation.

Mullin made the assertion during an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, stating flatly that the Department of Homeland Security's probe into the Minnesota Democrat's immigration history is "ongoing" and could expand beyond the marriage allegation itself.

The DHS secretary did not present documentary evidence during the interview, and no charges have been filed. But his public statements mark the most direct confirmation yet from a sitting cabinet official that federal investigators are actively examining whether Omar committed immigration fraud when she married British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009, a man conservative critics have long alleged is her biological brother.

Mullin says there is "no expiration" on immigration fraud

In the interview, Mullin told Johnson:

"We know that she married her brother to try to bring him into the United States."

He added that there "may be more to this" and that investigators were looking into possible "illegal activity" related to the broader family's entry into the country. Mullin suggested the investigation was not limited to the marriage question alone, federal authorities are examining whether false information was provided during the immigration process at any stage.

When pressed on whether anything could actually come of a case involving events from nearly two decades ago, Mullin was unequivocal. As the New York Post reported, the secretary warned that lying on an immigration application carries no statute of limitations, meaning Omar's naturalization, which she obtained in 2000, could itself be at risk.

"If you lied about certain things about your application. There's no expiration to that. If we can prove it, that you shouldn't have been here in the first place, we'll deport you."

That is a remarkable statement from the head of the nation's immigration enforcement apparatus about a sitting member of Congress. Marriage fraud is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Mullin framed the probe as a matter of law, not politics:

"If we actually move a case forward, it's not a political case. It's an actual case because they did things wrong."

Allegations first surfaced in 2019, and were never resolved

The accusation that Omar married her brother has trailed her for years. It gained national attention in 2019 when then-President Donald Trump and conservative groups called for a formal investigation. The Star Tribune, Minnesota's largest newspaper, examined records and communications related to Omar's marriages that year and reported discrepancies in the timeline of her marriages and divorces, but did not establish that Elmi was her brother.

The New York Times also examined the allegations in 2019 and reported that while questions had been raised about Omar's personal history, no publicly available evidence demonstrated that Elmi was her sibling. Omar has repeatedly denied the allegation, describing the accusations as false and politically motivated.

Omar's denials, however, have never fully addressed the underlying questions. No federal agency publicly released findings proving or disproving the relationship between Omar and Elmi during the years the story circulated. The matter sat in a kind of investigative limbo, publicly debated but never officially adjudicated. Mullin's statements from Dallas represent the first time a senior federal official has spoken about the matter as an active, ongoing federal case rather than an unresolved political controversy.

A DHS spokesperson declined to confirm details but issued a pointed warning

When Newsweek asked DHS to confirm the specific allegations Mullin raised, the agency declined to do so directly. A DHS spokesperson said the agency "does not comment on specific investigative techniques, ongoing investigations or potential future actions."

But the spokesperson added a line that carried its own weight:

"No one, including members of Congress, are above the law."

That formulation, neither confirming nor denying the investigation while pointedly noting that congressional status offers no shield, is consistent with how federal agencies typically handle live probes. It is also consistent with Mullin's framing: this is not about politics, it is about whether the law was broken.

As Just The News reported, Mullin emphasized that lying on an immigration application carries no expiration date, meaning even decades-old fraud could lead to consequences for a naturalized citizen. Omar became a U.S. citizen in 2000, nine years before the 2009 marriage to Elmi that is now at the center of the federal inquiry.

Community testimony adds another layer

Beyond the official statements, the New York Post cited Abdihakim Osman, described as a Minneapolis Somali community leader, who told the Daily Mail that Omar introduced Elmi as her brother from London in the late 2000s, saying he was looking for "papers." That account, if accurate, would directly contradict Omar's longstanding denial that Elmi is her sibling.

Omar herself has not been quoted responding specifically to Mullin's September 2026 statements. Her prior denials have been categorical, she has called the brother allegation false and politically motivated, but she has not addressed the new details Mullin disclosed about the scope and status of the federal investigation.

The congresswoman's family has faced other scrutiny in recent years. Her sister's consulting firm was registered at the same address as convicted fraudsters in the Feeding Our Future scandal, and police recently raided her son's Minneapolis home, seizing guns and ammunition. None of those matters are connected to the immigration investigation, but together they paint a picture of a public official whose family affairs invite persistent questions.

Trump weighed in months before Mullin's disclosure

President Trump addressed the Omar allegation publicly in May, telling a crowd that he believes Omar "married her brother, which is totally illegal." That statement preceded Mullin's more detailed disclosure by several months and signaled that the administration viewed the matter as a legitimate enforcement question, not merely a political talking point.

Marriage fraud rings are not hypothetical. Federal prosecutors have charged organizers of large-scale sham marriage operations that handed green cards to hundreds of foreign nationals. The law treats fraudulent marriages entered into for immigration purposes as serious federal offenses, regardless of whether the participants are private citizens or elected officials.

Mullin's insistence that "there's no expiration" to immigration fraud is legally grounded. Federal law allows the government to pursue denaturalization proceedings when it can show that citizenship was obtained through willful misrepresentation or concealment of material facts. If investigators establish that Omar's family provided false information during the immigration process, whether related to the Elmi marriage or to the broader family history Mullin referenced, the consequences could extend well beyond a criminal referral.

No charges yet, but the investigation is live

It is worth stating plainly what the record shows and what it does not. Mullin made serious public allegations. DHS confirmed an investigation exists without confirming its specifics. No charges have been filed. No court has established that Elmi is Omar's brother. Omar denies the allegation.

But a sitting DHS secretary does not casually announce an ongoing federal investigation into a sitting member of Congress on camera. Mullin chose his words carefully and repeatedly framed the inquiry as fact-driven, not partisan. If the investigation produces evidence of fraud, Omar will face legal exposure that her congressional seat cannot shield her from. If it does not, the matter will remain what it has been for seven years: an unresolved question that Omar's critics raise and her allies dismiss.

Either way, the American immigration system is supposed to operate on the principle that the rules apply to everyone, including the people who draft them. If that principle means anything, it means a member of Congress gets no pass that an ordinary applicant would not.