Earlier this year, the vice president of the United States made a stunning statement. In an interview with Fox News, JD Vance said that Somali Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) “definitely” committed fraud when she applied for a visa to enter the U.S.
At the time Fox noted:
Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday said the Justice Department is looking into whether Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., committed immigration fraud, citing longstanding allegations that she married a man critics claim is her brother.
Speaking to reporters, Vance was asked about the administration’s anti-fraud task force — established by President Donald Trump to combat fraud, waste, and abuse across federal benefit programs — and whether it would focus on Omar, a frequent Trump critic.
“You read the things about Ilhan Omar… who she married and whether she didn’t marry this person or that person,” Vance said. “It certainly seems like something fishy is there, but everybody’s entitled to equal justice under the law.”
The comments followed a podcast interview in March, during which Vance informed conservative commentator Benny Johnson that he had discussed potential legal action against the congresswoman with White House immigration advisor Stephen Miller.
“We think Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America,” Vance said at the time.
“If we think that there’s a crime, we’re going to prosecute that crime,” he added. “And that’s something the Department of Justice is looking at right now.”
That was then. On Sunday, President Trump posted to his Truth Social platform a link to a Just the News story claiming that the Department of Homeland Security was not responding to the outlet’s requests for information regarding Omar due to “enforcement proceedings“:ADVERTISEMENT
The federal government is refusing to turn over records related to an investigation conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement into allegations of immigration fraud by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., citing a legal exemption for ongoing investigations.
Just the News filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the records in January, seeking the records pertaining to any investigations conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement into the allegations that Rep. Omar, who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, married a relative in order to help him remain in the country.
Geographic ReferenceOmar has denied the allegations. No court records, DNA evidence, or other documentary proof has ever substantiated that Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, Omar’s legal husband from 2009–2017, was her biological brother.
“ICE has determined that the information you requested is being withheld in full pursuant to Title 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A). Disclosure of any responsive records at this time could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,” ICE told Just the News in response to the FOIA in May.
The FOIA exemption cited by the agency “applies to records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes when their release could disrupt such proceedings,” the reply reads.Trump administration border czar Tom Homan first said in December last year that the Department of Homeland Security was investigating whether Omar committed immigration fraud by allegedly marrying her brother, Just the News reported. “We’re pulling the records, we’re pulling the files,” Homan said in an interview with Newsmax last year. “We’re looking at it […] I’m running that down this week.
Follow Federal PolicyThe basic timeline of Omar’s publicly documented marriages and relationships is more clearly established. Omar was born in Somalia and spent part of her childhood in a refugee camp in Kenya before arriving in the United States in 1995. In 2002, Omar applied for a marriage license with Ahmed Hirsi. The two did not complete a civil marriage at the time but entered into what Omar has described as a faith-based Islamic marriage.
Omar and Hirsi separated in 2008. The following year, Omar legally married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Omar has said she and Elmi separated in 2011 through a faith-based divorce. In 2012, she resumed her relationship with Hirsi. After winning election to the Minnesota House of Representatives, Omar filed for a legal divorce from Elmi in 2017. The divorce was finalized that year. Omar and Hirsi subsequently married legally in 2018.
Stay tuned.
Dozens of Americans remain unaccounted for after catastrophic flash floods and mudslides tore through the mountainous Nepal-Tibet border region, leaving hundreds dead and triggering an enormous international search-and-rescue operation as authorities race to locate survivors trapped in isolated communities.
The Nepal Tourism Board reported Thursday that 63 Americans were among hundreds of foreign tourists who had not yet been located, although officials cautioned that the number of missing U.S. citizens has fluctuated as communications are restored and rescue teams reach previously inaccessible areas.
Download Interactive MapsTwo Americans, described as a man and woman in their 50s, were among 27 foreign tourists successfully rescued from the devastated Rasuwa district, providing a rare piece of encouraging news as the massive recovery effort continued.
The disaster struck around 8:40 a.m. local time Wednesday when an enormous torrent of water, mud, rocks and other debris surged through northern Nepal near its border with China’s Tibet region, overwhelming communities along the Trishuli River and destroying buildings, bridges and roadways in its path.
Officials initially believed seismic activity may have triggered the disaster, but subsequent analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey determined that the seismic signal was generated by a massive glacial collapse and debris flow rather than a conventional earthquake.
Geographic ReferenceThe scale of the devastation has become clearer by the hour, with more than 350 people reported dead across the broader disaster zone by Thursday while more than 1,000 remained missing in Nepal and China.
Nepalese authorities reported hundreds of people still unaccounted for, including local residents, members of the country’s security forces and a staggering number of tourists who had traveled to the spectacular Himalayan region before disaster struck.
Discover moreAmong the foreign tourists reported out of contact in Nepal were 177 Indian nationals, 63 Americans, 53 Ukrainians, 34 Australians, 33 British citizens and 25 Canadians, along with smaller numbers of travelers from Germany, Singapore, South Africa and numerous other countries.
Across the border in Tibet, Chinese state media reported another 558 people missing in Gyirong County, including approximately 260 foreign nationals, underscoring the enormous geographic reach of the disaster.
Thousands of Nepalese soldiers and police officers have been deployed into the disaster zone, while military helicopters have been conducting repeated flights to search for survivors, evacuate the injured and deliver emergency supplies to communities cut off by washed-out roads and destroyed bridges.
The Nepali Army said its aircraft evacuated 125 people, including 20 foreign nationals, from the Timure and Mailung areas Thursday morning as rescuers continued pushing deeper into the hardest-hit territory.
For American families awaiting information, the U.S. government has begun mobilizing resources as officials attempt to determine the whereabouts and condition of citizens who may have been caught in the flooding.
Geographic Reference“The United States extends its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the devastating flash floods in the Rasuwa district of Nepal. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster,” a State Department spokesperson said.
The State Department said it was “closely monitoring the situation and is deploying a disaster response adviser to the region to support response efforts. The Department will also provide $500,000 in assistance through its global award with Catholic Relief Services, supporting emergency shelter, relief items, and water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance to flood-affected communities.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio also expressed American solidarity with Nepal and said the United States stood ready to assist the country’s government with humanitarian needs as the full scale of the catastrophe emerged.
Discover moreThe U.S. Embassy in Nepal said it was “working to account for U.S. citizens who may have been affected” and urged Americans in the disaster zone who were able to communicate to contact their families, hotels, guides, trekking companies or tour operators as quickly as possible.
Communications remain severely disrupted in portions of the region, creating the possibility that some people currently classified as missing or out of contact could ultimately be found alive once cellphone networks and transportation links are restored.
Among those caught in the disaster were travelers associated with the India-based Isha Foundation, which told ABC News that 22 Americans were among a 77-person tour group at an immigration center near the Nepal-Tibet border when the flooding struck.
Download Interactive MapsThree additional missing Americans were reportedly traveling with the Nepalese company Fishtail Tours and Travel, which confirmed that the U.S. nationals were among tourists still unaccounted for.
The disaster reportedly began roughly 12 miles northeast of the Rasuwagadhi border crossing, where an enormous glacial collapse sent ice, rock, and debris plunging into the valley before a devastating surge traveled downstream toward populated areas.
Entire stretches of critical infrastructure have been devastated, complicating an already dangerous rescue mission as emergency crews navigate unstable terrain, thick mud, high water, and areas accessible primarily by helicopter.
Instead of following a career in politics or public service, Malia has focused on storytelling and filmmaking, working mainly behind the scenes. Those who have worked with her say she is dedicated, prepared, and eager to improve through experience rather than relying on her famous last name.
Her career reflects a clear desire to build success on her own terms. While her family name naturally brings public interest, colleagues and supporters point to her work ethic and commitment as the qualities that define her progress.
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