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Swarajya Staff
Jan 28, 2020, 03:07 PM | Updated 03:07 PM IST
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI) is reportedly is reportedly looking into whether U.S Congresswoman Rep. Ilhan Omar married her brother in order to facilitate his immigration to the U.S.
Ilhan Omar, a former Somali refugee and one of the first two Muslim women to be elected to Congress, has often faced criticism for her perceived reluctance to condemn or sympathetic to terrorism and atrocities committed by Islamic groups. Omar has also been frequently come under criticism for her anti-Semitic comments statements.
According to a report in New York Post, two FBI agents interviewed an individual in Minnesot with considerable knowledge of the case in mid-October. The person is said to provided the investigating agency several documents relating to the marriage of Omar and Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009.
The two agents are set to share the information with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Department of Education. It is not known at this time whether this could potentiall open an investigation into the Muslim lawmaker.
Allegations have emerged that Omar married Elmi (now an British Citizen) in order to obtain a Green Card for the brother.
Omar’s complicated personal life has been the subject of continuing media scrutiny since her election to Congress at the 2018 midterm elections. Before her marriage to Elmi, Omar was engaged to Ahmed Hirsi in 2002. The controversial congresswoman is however on record that she did not legally marry Hirsi. Omar and Hirsi split in 2008, but reunited in 2012, even though Omar was legally married to Elmi until 2017.
Under the U.S law, conviction for marriage fraud could result in a $250,000 fine, along with five years in prison.