The foundation for Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s claim to be a United States citizen seems increasingly dubious.
The lawmaker’s citizenship status has been dominating headlines ever since her Washington, D.C., home was raided last week in what reports have said is a criminal case related to immigration issues.
Omar, whose family came to America from Somalia, claimed in 2018 that she became a citizen through her father.
“I became a citizen actually before I turned 18. My father became a citizen and so I got my citizenship through that process,” she said, according to The Intercept.
A report in the New York Post said that congressional staff pushed to have Omar’s official birth date in the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library changed from 1981 to 1982, which would align with her narrative.
Former political rival A.J. Kern said Omar “claims her citizenship narrative is that she derived citizenship through her father when she was a 17-year-old minor.”
“For derivative citizenship, two things have to be true — one, her father had to naturalize; and two, she still had to be a minor — and what I have found is that it’s highly likely that neither of those things are true,” Kern said.
Kern added that a June 2023 bombshell from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, indicated no record of her father’s naturalization could be found.
Do you believe Ilhan Omar’s citizenship claim will be proven valid?
Yes, she is a true citizen
1% (4 votes)
No, there are too many inconsistencies
97% (501 votes)
Unsure
2% (9 votes)
“Your index search request was received in this office on June 27, 2022, regarding Nur Omar Mohamed born on January 1, 1941 in Somalia. We completed a thorough search for records based on the information you provided. Unfortunately, we found no matching index reference,” the agency wrote.
“Our search included all variations of the subject’s name, including Nur Said Elmi Mohamed with the same results,” the agency wrote.
Kern told NewsNation that “since she claims derivative citizenship through her father and he passed away in 2020, I requested his records.”
“And it took a year, but I have a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services dated June 20, 2023, that states that after a thorough search of their database and using all variations of his name, that there is no record of her father’s naturalization,” Kern said.
“And then I sent off to the Department of Homeland Security, and they also did a search of their database, using all variations of his name. They also found that her father was not in their database,” she continued.
The letter, Kern said, claimed that a diligent search was conducted and no record was found.
Although Omar has said she is a citizen, and signed documents swearing that is the truth, Kern said the system has far too many flaws, according to NewsNation.
“In the refugee program, they obtain a Social Security number fairly soon after they enter the country; eventually, they go and obtain a driver’s license,” she said.
“So Ilhan Omar as a child obtained a Social Security number. Then when she became of driving age, she went in and she obtained a driver’s license, and at the same time she registered to vote,” Kern continued.
“And what we know in Minnesota is they are not verifying citizenship… so it’s very easy when you have a Social Security number, a driver’s license, and you’re registered to vote to say, ‘Yeah, I’m a citizen.’ And nobody can check it. No one, no one can do anything about it,” Kern said.
A New York Post report said Omar has never produced a birth certificate, blaming the lack of documentation on the ravages of wars in Somalia.
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