Ilhan Omar called Tom Homan's immigration investigation a "bigoted lie" in December.
Now Homan has confirmed a criminal probe is open – and he is not the only one who has been building a case.
Now one powerful Republican is demanding the evidence go public – and what he wants to do with it could end her political career.
Tom Homan and JD Vance Confirm the Ilhan Omar Immigration Fraud Investigation
Border Czar Tom Homan said publicly in December that his office pulled Omar's immigration file after a Homeland Security Investigations fraud agent reviewed it and raised serious concerns.
Vice President JD Vance went further in March. "We think Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America," Vance said on a podcast with Benny Johnson.
By May, Vance confirmed the Department of Justice had opened its own inquiry.
Then DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin dropped the most specific allegation yet. "We know that she married her brother to try to bring him into the United States," Mullin told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson this month. "There may be more to this – possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with."
Homan delivered the formal confirmation on September 14, telling Fox News that Homeland Security Investigations – the criminal arm of ICE – is actively running a probe into Omar.
"No one's above the law," Homan said. "If someone committed marriage fraud or anything like that, regardless if they're a congresswoman or not, we'll let HSI continue the investigation."
He left no doubt about what comes next if the evidence holds. "If someone lies through that process to become a citizen, and we can prove they, in fact, lied or misrepresented themselves, we can absolutely denaturalize them."
Comer Wants Congress to Make the Call
House Oversight Chairman James Comer is not waiting.
The Kentucky Republican went on Just the News, No Noise and demanded the Trump administration release its evidence immediately.
"I think they should make it public. Absolutely, make it public," Comer said. "The evidence that I've seen would show that. They would be privy to a lot more evidence than I would have."
Comer then put the constitutional question directly to Congress.
"Let us vote as to whether or not she needs to remain in Congress. If you violated the laws to become a citizen, should that make you ineligible to be a member of Congress? I think so."
Comer wants every member on the record. "Put it up for a vote in Congress and let the American people see how their member of Congress would vote on that."
Denaturalization is a civil process that moves through federal courts, takes years, and can be appealed at every stage.
A criminal prosecution requires a jury, evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, and a statute of limitations that Homan himself flagged as a complication.
An expulsion vote requires 290 House members to agree that someone who obtained citizenship through fraud has no business making American law – no judge, no jury, no appeals process.
Every Democrat who votes to keep Omar seated while Homan, Vance, and Mullin are all on record saying she committed marriage fraud will own that vote in November.
The Marriage Fraud Charge That Could Get Ilhan Omar Deported
Federal law makes it a felony – punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine – to knowingly enter a marriage to evade immigration laws.
Omar's 2009 civil marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi – a man Somali community members say she privately identified as her brother – is what investigators are looking at.
Just the News filed a FOIA request for ICE records on the investigation earlier this year. ICE refused to produce a single document, citing an exemption reserved for situations where disclosure would compromise active enforcement proceedings.
Federal law requires a court to find a "reasonable likelihood" of pending legal action before that exemption can be invoked. ICE invoked it anyway.
Omar has denied the allegations for more than a decade. Those denials are now stacked against on-the-record statements from the Vice President, the Homeland Security Secretary, and the border czar – none of whom are hedging.
How ICE Denaturalization Cases Work and Why Omar Is Next
The Trump administration has been processing 100 to 200 denaturalization referrals per month to DOJ, according to a Congressional Research Service report published this year.
The legal standard is willful fraud or material misrepresentation on a naturalization application. If investigators prove Omar lied about her relationship to Elmi – or that the marriage itself was fraudulent – denaturalization and deportation follow.
What separates the Omar case from the hundreds of ordinary denaturalization cases moving through the system is that she is a sitting member of Congress.
If the evidence is made public and Comer gets his vote, Democrats will have to go on the record about whether immigration fraud disqualifies someone from serving in the United States House.
Most Americans already know their answer. Comer just made sure Democrats have to give one too.
Sources:
- Tom Homan, "Border Czar Tom Homan Confirms ICE Is Probing Rep. Ilhan Omar for Immigration Crimes," Washington Times, September 15, 2026.
- Daily Wire Staff, "ICE Investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar, Homan Confirms," Daily Wire, September 14, 2026.
- Fox News Staff, "Homan Confirms Criminal Investigation Into Rep. Omar," Fox News, September 14, 2026.
- Washington Examiner Staff, "James Comer Seeks Immigration Fraud Evidence on Ilhan Omar," Washington Examiner, September 15, 2026.
- John Solomon, "Comer Demands Release of Ilhan Omar Immigration Evidence So Congress Can Weigh Expulsion," Just the News, September 15, 2026.
- Congressional Research Service, "Denaturalization: A Brief Overview of the Current Legal Framework," Congress.gov, 2026.
