US President Donald Trump has unleashed a scathing attack on Somali immigrants, including Ilhan Omar, during a cabinet meeting — calling Somali Americans “garbage” and demanding many be sent “back home.” He singled out Omar by name, saying, “Ilhan Omar is garbage. Her friends are garbage.” Trump claimed Somali Americans “contribute nothing,” prompting outrage across communities.
Who Is Ilhan Omar?
Ilhan Omar, born in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1982, came to the United States as a refugee after fleeing civil war. Her family spent several years in a refugee camp in Kenya before relocating to Minneapolis in the 1990s. In 2019, Omar made history by becoming the first Somali-American elected to the US Congress and one of the first two Muslim women ever to serve in Congress. She represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis and the surrounding suburbs.
Before joining the US House of Representatives, she served for two years in the Minnesota House of Representatives and worked as a community educator, policy aide, and advocate — particularly on issues affecting immigrant and minority communities. As a member of Congress, Omar has championed a range of progressive causes: from student-debt relief and a $15 minimum wage to immigration reform, universal healthcare, and civil rights.
Ilhan Omar Controversy
In the wake of this rhetoric, allegations resurfaced about Omar’s early personal history — specifically that her 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi was illegal, and the claim (mostly circulated in fringe media) that he was her brother. Proponents of this theory argue that she secured citizenship fraudulently. That has triggered demands from some quarters — particularly supporters of Trump — calling for her denaturalisation and deportation.
However, it’s important to note: investigations by the US authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and oversight by the House ethics committees, found insufficient evidence to proceed with legal action. As of now, no charges have been filed against Omar.
Anti-India Connection
Omar has also attracted attention — and criticism — in India for her outspoken views on Kashmir and related issues. In April 2022, she traveled to Pakistan and visited Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), including meeting local leadership and visiting areas across the Line of Control (LoC). Following her PoK visit, she told U.S. media she believed the US should pay greater attention to alleged human-rights violations in Kashmir. Her visit drew sharp condemnation from the Indian government: the Ministry of External Affairs described the visit as “condemnable,” asserting that it violated India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
In addition to the visit, Omar has sponsored or supported American congressional resolutions critiquing India’s human-rights record and religious-freedom situation — further cementing her as one of the more prominent U.S. lawmakers vocal on India’s internal issues.
Can Ilhan Omar Be Deported under US Law?
Under US immigration law, naturalised citizens can be stripped of citizenship (denaturalised) and deported — but only if there is “clear, unequivocal, and convincing” evidence that they obtained citizenship through concealment of material facts, misrepresentation or fraud.
Given that no court has found Omar guilty of such misconduct, and that prior investigations have concluded without charges, calls for her deportation remain legally unsubstantiated.
Moreover, denaturalisation of a sitting member of Congress would raise serious constitutional and political challenges — a fact that contributes to the calls being widely dismissed as politically motivated.
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